


Danganronpa - Ruins of Hope

by Anannir



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:21:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 53,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24771550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anannir/pseuds/Anannir
Summary: A new killing game starts again? This time Monokuma will host 21 of our Zexal cast and force them to participate in a killing game, but there sure will be resistance coming from them. Will our friends prevail in their struggle against the remnants of Despair or they will succumb to it?
Comments: 9
Kudos: 16





	1. Prologue - Ultimate Awakening

**Warning:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal and Danganronpa, obviously

 **Note:** This is an AU Zexal X Danganronpa crossover. This won't be a recreation of the existing Danganronpa series and it will be a mash-up of all the Danganronpa series and Zexal and it will be fairly original, although the frustratingly similar and very inspired by Danganronpa V3 for few trials, I will try to make it more original and its own distinct story and original murder mysteries. And yes, the bear that kills away your favourite characters still exists, so sorry in advance for your loss. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Prologue: Ultimate Awakening**

…

  
  


…

  
  


…

It was hollow, it was void.

There was no sense of existence, there were no thoughts, the only thing I could see was an impenetrable darkness that surrounded me. Wait, darkness?

After a while, I felt the stiffness of my body wear off, I… I could move! I felt something… it was a smooth surface, the sheer coldness gave me goosebumps, and my body jerked on its own and I sprinted my arms with as much force I had, and it was followed by screeching metallic sound.

???: “Huh?”

I looked around me in a complete daze, the small frame my body barely fitted into was a... a locker? I couldn’t process what was going on… at the same time I lost my balance and abruptly fell on the floor.

???: “Ouch!”

I started to get a hold of my arms and tried to sit up. An itching pain rushed through my legs which made me brush my bruised knees. I started to rub my ivy green hair trying to get out of this uneasy feeling, I tried to remember how I got here, but no matter what, I just couldn’t... I glanced around for a bit, I couldn’t process what I was seeing.

???: “A… a classroom?” 

A classroom, alright, but I never saw it before… and don’t remember ever seeing this room… 

???: “Where am I? What am I doing here?”

As I pounded my head with questions, a sudden sound startled me from behind which almost made me trip over for a second, then I realised the sound came from the locker next to mine. After a while the locker started shaking, it felt as if it was alive. In a frightful sight I traced back my steps and what happened next left me awestruck. A person fell out. However the moment I saw the spikey hair from behind…

???: "Yuma! Are you okay?"

As Yuma's body crashed down the floor, I held him in place, shaking his body in an attempt to bring him out of unconsciousness, which as a result made his eyes flicker. Then just like me, his eyes started to explore around the classroom, trying to process what was happening. 

Yuma: “K-Kotori… what? A classroom?... Did the lesson end already?”

Yuma questioned in a complete daze. I held my breath as much as I tried, but he was marking my patience down. He still didn’t realize the bizarre circumstances we are in, don’t remind me, I fully know sometimes he’s a total idiot. Then his eyes shifted to the ceiling, and a second later his eyes widened.

Kotori: “Yuma! We are not in a normal lesson! We just fell out of a locker! Don’t you realize that… Where are you looking? Are you even listening to me?”

Yuma looked dazzled and as if from a miracle he understood that it wasn’t normal the situation that we were in… what just happened?...

Anyhow, we sprinted out of the classroom, with the hope to understand how we got here and finally get out of this place! We ran down a long hallway, however a surprise laid before us…

Yuma: “What’s going on!”

Kotori: “What is a giant robot like that doing in a place like this?!”

???: “Finally I found you two! You two are finally awake, I was starting to worry! And this isn’t just a huge robot, I advise you to not come closer to these machines… If you defy us, you will receive punishment, and t-there will so much g-gore, just go away!”

A squeaky and feminine voice came out of the huge pink and metallic machine, we were too caught up to think of anything so we just ran in the opposite direction. Even if the robot didn’t want us any closer to them, it followed us.

Yuma: “Kotori! There is a staircase! Over here!”

Yuma shouted at the top of his lungs. I followed him and ran down the stairs, but yet to find another one of those giant robots! It seems this one was facing the other way, we better be quick about this… 

After a while we eventually came at the end of the hallway we went into, there was one door there which seemed to be conducting to the gym, we didn’t hesitate to open, however, we saw what we never expected to see…

Durbe: “More people arrived...”

Tetsuo: “Kotori is here! And there is-”

Cathy: “Yuma!”

Anna: “Wait, Yuma and Kotori are here too?”

Alito: “Well duh!”

Kaito: “It took you long, we were waiting for you guys.”

Yuma: “Waiting for us…”

Ryouga: “After seeing the **line of people** here, it was obvious who was going to arrive...”

Kotori: “You guys know what is happening, right? We were chased by those robots just now! And for some reason… I just can’t remember how I got here...”

Chris: “I see… is the same for everybody apparently. They must be still prowling around.”

Mizael: “Wait, everybody has **amnesia**?...”

Haruto: “I don’t know what’s going on, but that sure seems to be the work of a familiar person here…”

Tron: “I sure hope you’re not referring to me, Haruto.”

Droite: “I gotta agree with Haruto with this one.”

Tron: “You too! I’m being ganged up on again! I thought we left the past behind, it breaks my heart to pieces…”

Thomas: “Whoever did it sure had the balls to even dare to mess with our heads! They really asked for my fanservice this time. Well, I’ll show 'em!”

Droite: “I don’t think it’ll be that easy… other than our lost memories, we have also lost our decks.”

As she stated those words, a mass panicked expression started to form on each person. I quickly checked my own box too.

Yuma: “It’s empty! All of my cards are gone! Even my number cards! This is really bad!”

Everyone looked as if they were obliterated. There were different reactions from everyone.

Vector: “I don’t like what’s happening, not one bit.”

Gilag: “ “You don’t like”! Not only they had the balls to kidnap us and take away our memories of it but they had stolen our decks too! I am gonna gush out their guts for sure for getting their hands on my deck!”

Alito: “I hope that person and I never cross paths, for their sake…”

Rio: “This is too much! They didn’t even take an affront face to face duel with us to collect our decks, they rather preferred to do it when we were most vulnerable.”

Ryouga: “That’s because they're a bunch of cowards!”

Tokunosuke: “H-How dare they steal my deck! AAAAHHHH I worked so hard to build them!”

Casewell: “You mean by using your cheap tricks?...”

Tokonuske: “Hey hey, let’s not talk about that in public…”

Everybody started gibbering and cursing under their breaths, it was getting out of our hands. So I yelled.

Kotori: “Everybody! Calm down!”

As I yelled those words, everybody’s eyes shifted towards me…

Durbe: “I know this situation is very aggravating for you, but you have to understand that we have lost something very valuable to us-”

Kotori: “No, I understand what you are going through, but we can’t handle things like this! We have to be more logical and find a way to get them back! First we gotta think!”

Cathy: “It’s easy for you to say!”

Thomas: “And it’s just a waste of time-”

Kaito: “No, Kotori is right, first we have to ask ourselves why they would steal our decks?”

Thomas: “Again, what’s the point-”

Chris: “You mean what is the intention behind, right Kaito?”

Thomas: “C’mon it’s obvious, they obviously took mine because my deck is of a Champion, and so awesome that they can’t ever build in their lifetime! 

Rio: “No one asked about your opinion…”

Thomas: “Don’t be so cold, your decks are strong too that’s why they took it, with few exceptions of course...”

As he mocked around those words, he glanced at my friends, *sigh*

Tetsuo: “Don’t think we didn’t notice your glance Four!

Droite: “Our decks being strong is just one reason, however, the person wouldn’t have gained profit from stealing all of our decks.”

Michael: “Would you mind elaborating on the point? Sorry, the situation itself is very confusing...”

Droite: “Not at all. I’ll explain using Kaito’s deck as an example, it can’t be used by anyone else other than himself because of the Photon Transformation, so it would be useless to steal his deck, so Four’s point doesn’t really validate. As he also hinted, there are different levels of each deck, mine is very tricky to use too and only I can use it the proper way, and I am sure everyone has their own strategy and tricks, also stealing every single deck and making it into a single deck is just preposterous.”

Michael: “Basically it wouldn’t benefit them to steal our decks for the purpose of making them stronger, so there has to be another reason that might explain the situation we are in.”

Thomas: “Then what is that half-assed reason?”

Droite: “I think they simply took so we don’t have anything to defend ourselves with.”

Haruto: “Defend ourselves?... Why would we need to defend ourselves?”

Droite: “Well, just a few minutes ago we were just running away from those robots. They even threatened us and said something along the line of ‘punishing us if we defied them’.”

Kaito: “I agree. Also, I’ve been analysing the walls of the school for a while… it seems to be made of certain materials that only gives access to the person controlling it and not us, we are surrounded from every path, so we can’t use our deck to find a way out.”

Kaito spoke those words intently with a concerned face, I think Yuma and I never saw Kaito like this… he always knew there was always away. He had an odd look of familiarity… which means he knows what to do! Well, he is into this sort of technology stuff after all, so I am sure he can definitely do something about it. We need to have hope!

Tron: “So they wanted to trap us here all vulnerable.”

Kotori: "Well, Kaito totally looks like he’s familiar around these things! I am sure you can do something about it! We can’t just give up from our kidnapper now, I am sure we’ll get out soon!"

Kaito: “I am sorry but everyone needs to keep their expectations low, for now, it’s far more… complicated, but I can definitely find a way and work on it.”

Michael: “They have also taken the number cards, it’s not looking good for us.”

Yuma: “The Numeron-code! We need to get them back otherwise the whole universe will be in danger. We have to find the person who stole them!”

Vector: “Do you think it will be that easy, Yuma? If they took away our numbers with such ease, without any difficulty like activating the Arclight family’s crest, I believe we are dealing with a worthy opponent.”

Casewell: “I have a very bad feeling about this…”

Cathy: “Don’t tell me… My cats are home all alone, I have to get out as soon as possible and feed them.”

Rio: “Cathy, your cats are the least of our concerns right now…”

Cathy: “Huh? How dare you!-”

Kotori: “Enough guys!"

???: “This conversation of theirs is going for a while now… It’s time that we intervene!

As we heard those words, five giant robots popped up from nowhere and surrounded us.

Haruto: “It’s them again!”

Anna: “ARRRGHHH they took my cannon away! Otherwise, I would have blown them to pieces!”

???: “Kyahahaha! Thanks for bearing with us!”

Casewell: “More of those robot monsters are here!”

??? (yellow) : “These are not monsters! They’re **Exisals** ! They are **highly mobile, bipedal weapons platforms**.”

Kaito: “Weapons?...”

Exisals (blue): “Hell yeah! If one of you bastards does even think about going against us we’ll just stamp on your bodies until all your guts are splattered like when we force out maionese out of the bottle!”

Exisals (pink): “Please don’t compare g-gruesome stuff with food… It takes away all my appetite…”

Exisals (red): “It’s their fault after all, they have been so mean to us…”

Exisal (pink): “Maybe it’s because we look scary in these, I think we should reveal ourselves!”

Exisal (red): “Great idea! Get readyyyyy!”

After the… Exisal said that, five little stuffed bears came out from it. All of them were half white and half coloured, at one side they looked so adorable, and the other half…

The red one called himself to be Monotaro… The pink one with stripes called herself Monophanie, so cute! The yellow with tiger stripes called himself Monosuke. The green one that seemed to be made out of metal can call himself Monodam, and finally that blue one with stars printed in the eyes and… chest hair?… Called himself Monokid...

“Rise and shine, ursine! With our powers combined, we are the Monokubs!”

We remained still for a couple of minutes… what was just going on?

Yuma: “First we have dogs that can duel, talking racoons and now we have talking and moving stuffed bears?"

Cathy: “Hey I am not responsible for this… I only train cats.”

Gilag: "Neither am I…"

Chris: “It looks like it has an intelligent AI, and it also seems to be very humane, I am actually very curious about the AI inserted in those… things.”

Monotaro: “ “Those things” why are you trash talking to us as if we are just some human garbage!”

Monosuke: " *whisper* Monotaro you're not human so you're not a human garbage to begin with!"

Monotaro: "That's right! Yay!"

Monokid: "Hell yeah! I am from the depths of the hellish garbage of the garbage land and going to destroy the world with garbage!"

Monosuke: " *sigh* This is even worse…"

Monophanie: "I am sure it was the reference of Dr Faker's method to annihilate the Astral world, I feel so sorry for those innocent souls…"

Monodam: "You shouldn't feel sorry, you know that it was to save his poor little son. We should all-get-along just like they did."

Monotaro: "Do you think **father** would do the same for us?"

Haruto: "Hey! How come this story is brought up again! Don't even dare to say a word about it! Just shut up!"

Kotori: "Did you just say "father"?..."

???: "Awww my cute little cubs, I would do _greater_ and _moooore_."

The voice seemed like an echo ringing through the whole gym; quickly we turned where the voice originated from, and then from the pedestal a burning light came from the stage-as if from magic, a half black and a half white bear teleported here.

Alito: "Another bear! Gilag, are these things related to Ponta or something?!"

Gilag: "Who the f*ck knows! Ponta is sleeping right now!"

???: "I am not related at all to that filthy racoon! And I am not just ANY bear! I am the god of this new world, and the Headmaster of this Ultimate Academy! I am the one, the onlyyy, MONOKUMA! HAHAHA!"

Monotaro: "Another epic entrance!"

Monosuke: "Pops just know how to keep the tension."

Monokid: "Go go Papakuma!"

Monophanie: "Daddy is always so cool, those lightings enhanced his coolness to a whole new level."

Dumon: "Monokuma?…"

Vector: " _"god of this new world"_... Tch"

Ryouga: "Great, another one of those idiots…"

Rio: "No Ryouga… this one looks different, I feel a very dangerous aura coming from it…"

Ryouga: "Huh?..."

Droite: "And those Monokubs referred to him as father.''

Casewell: "I-Isn't the boss battle supposed to appear after we beat the first levels?"

Monokuma: "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! You guys are too chatty! Now, let’s get back to business, shall we?”

Chris: “Before you say anything, I have a question. Is the person who created you guys and controls you the responsible who orchestrated this whole thing?

Monokuma: “Puhuhuhu, who knows?”

Chris: “I am going to take it as a yes.”

Monokuma: “Think what you want I don’t give a damn! _Let’s get back to business, shall we?!_ Now there is something important I have to tell you guys *giggles*

Dumon: “Don’t keep us waiting then…”

Monokuma: “As you must have realized every path of this school is blocked, and there is just no way you can get out by hopelessly trying to destroy the walls, not even using the cards from your deck because I confiscated them!”

Anna: “ “Confiscated”? Confiscated my ass! Those decks belonged to us, and there is no way you had the right, even the authority to even touch them with your dirty little paws!”

Monokuma: “Listen here, lady! I am the headmaster of this Ultimate Academy! And as long as you are here all under my territory, each of you bastards will follow the regulations under the school’s circumspect!”

Vector: “Are we sure this is just a school? It’s a rather peculiar choice to kidnap us here...”

Not a school? This place definitely looks like a school, so what does he mean by that?

Kotori: “By the looks of it seems one.”

Vector: “You’re right, but I have a feeling there are more dangerous places than just a normal school would have…”

Mizael: “What is the meaning of this Vector?”

Vector: “Nothing in particular, just a gut feeling, that’s all.”

Vector quickly left the topic with an eerie atmosphere… What is it with him?

Kotori: “This is a school alright, but aren’t some of us too old to attend school?...”

Monokuma: “This isn’t just some normal school as the carrot guy guessed, this is a school for ultimates, even old people have been a student to such a school to cultivate their talents in their field to become more successful!”

Tron: “Yeah I saw very rare schools like that, but I don’t remember to enrol here. I already have an important job.”

Monokuma: “Who cares about your job! As the headmaster of this school, I am proud to announce that the **killing game** semester starts from today! I want you students with your Ultimate-level talents to participate in a **killing game**!

...

Did I just hear it right? “Killing game”... as those words spouted out from his mouth, so casually, so carefree… I tried to give a meaning to those words, but I couldn’t…

Yuma: “What do you mean by killing game! What game is that!”

Tokonuske: “Maybe it’s the name of a board game or card games, right?”

Monokuma: “HAHAHAHA! Let me clear this once and for all the troglodytes over here, make sure to open your ears wide! When I said "killing game", I meant murdering each other!”

As he clarified his words, my heart started to ache and fear devoured my chest. Everyone shot the bear laying before us with a cold gaze, but I felt weak.

Kotori: “What?! Killing game… us?”

Ryouga: “What kind of joke is this?!”

Rio: “This doesn’t seem like some kind of a joke…”

Dumon: “What the hell… Why would we ever agree to participate in a killing game?!”

Monokuma: “Huh? You guys don’t wanna do it?”

Yuma: “Of course we will never do it, why would friends ever kill each other?!”

Monokuma: “Who said you guys are **friends**?”

Yuma: “Huh?”

Monokuma: “Whatever you guys had is in the past now, here you guys are enemies to kill each other!”

Enemies?... We’re enemies?... What is he saying?…

Vector: “The situation escalated real fast…”

Droite: “So this was the reason for everything we just went through…”

Haruto: “Everything we went through? The kidnapping, our stolen memories and decks and trapping us here to force us to kill each other?... To kill our friends and loved ones? How come no one came to rescue us! Maybe… I am sure father has sent a force trying to break into here to save us! Right big brother?”

Kaito: "…"

Tron: "*sigh* So it’s what I thought…”

Haruto: “Big brother?”

Kaito: “I am sure father is, but whatever happens, I’ll be always there to protect you, so don’t worry about it, alright?”

Haruto: “Big brother…”

Gilag: “You don’t know who you’re messing with plush doll!”

As he finished his sentence, he lifted the struggling bear up.

Monokuma: “Just what do you think you’re doing! Attacking the headmaster is absolutely prohibited! You’re going against the school regulations!” 

Gilag: “Shut your freakin mouth! I don’t give a damn!”

Monokuma became still as if it was shut off, but then his red eye started beeping, and the beeping became faster and faster.

Alito: “Throw it! Now!”

Gilag obeyed Alito instantly and threw Monokuma. He threw him towards the wall, I was sure it was done on purpose. Monokuma exploded in a thousand pieces, the impact didn’t destroy the wall, but Monokuma was reduced to dust, wait, is this really the end of the killing game? I felt relief across my body. What was the mastermind thinking? Was it that easy?

Tetsuo: “Is that demonic doll gone now? This means there will be no more of that killing game, right?”

Monokuma: “Not at all!”

Tetsuo: “AAHHH!”

Anna: “W-Wait, didn’t that thing just get blown away right now? Dammit it has spares too! How about we destroy each of them until there is no more of it?”

Monokuma: “Just try to put your hands on me and you’ll regret it! For your information, I own many clones of myself, it’ll take you a lot of time to annihilate me without every single one of you guys dying.”

Anna: “Argh!”

Vector: “So how does this killing game works anyway? Do we have weapons to kill someone?”

Ryouga: “Same old Vector, huh? You haven’t changed your ways at all… Yuma was wrong, which I knew all along of course.”

Yuma: "Shark…"

Vector: “Hmph, think what you want, but this prologue couldn’t go any slower because of you dumbasses, so I am doing a favour.”

Monokuma: “I am with Shark, what barbaric display are you having on your mind? Did this really bring back and fire up your murderous fiend? Well you couldn’t be more wrong. At this Ultimate Academy the killing game is quite a refined and sophisticated experience!”

Rio: “Sophisticated experience?”

Monokuma: “Yes, because the killings are followed by **class trials**.”

Monokubs: “Okie dokie! Let us explain!”

Monophanie: “Alright, if one of you bastards kill someone, you all take part in a class trial.”

Monotaro: “The class trial is where the **blackened** killer faces off against their **spotless** classmates.”

Monosuke: “Is where you argue and debate who the blackened is. After a thorough debate, it’s Voting Time! And if the majority of you vote correctly…”

Monokid: “Then only the blackened will receive punishment and get f*cking wrecked! Haha the best part! After the blackened has been punished, you b*ches and hoes will be f*cking living together as normal!

Monosuke: “But if you maggots vote for the wrong person in the class trial, the blackened will scot-free, will graduate and will get their deck back, and all the spotless students get punished instead, and these are the rules of the class trial. And for you that idiots are wondering what the punishment entails, it's an execution, simply put.”

Monokuma: “The point is, it’s not enough to kill someone, you also have to survive the class trial.”

Chris: “The rules are awfully a reflection of the real world.”

Thomas: “Tch, who’s gonna participate in this?”

Monokuma: “Nyeh?”

Thomas: “A brainless robot like you wouldn’t understand the power of family and friendship! Not everyone here is friends, sure, but if I really killed someone for freedom, what kind of freedom is it with my family being murdered?! And if you haven’t noticed, everyone here has someone important to them that they won’t risk for the world!”

Monokuma: “Now that you mention it, there are quite many of you that have relatives, so let’s fix that shall we?! Let me introduce you to the first motive!”

Thomas: “What?!”

Monokuma: “If the blackened survive the trial, not only will they be freed, get to graduate and receive their deck back, but also their whole family will receive the same reward. Puhuhu, I am sure this appeals to some of you now, right, riiiiight?”

Ryouga: “Damn you!”

Kaito: “Arrgh!”

Yuma: “Stop toying with us, stop toying with my friends!”

Yuma let out a desperate scream... Monokuma saw right through our weakness. It hurt seeing everyone like this… I clenched my palm and hardened them.

Kotori: “We will never succumb to you Monokuma! You ignored the other part of what Four said, we have the power of friendship, and by that we are also family, we don’t need to be related by blood to be one, we won’t kill each other, no matter what you do, no matter what motives, rewards, gifts you give, it’s something you can’t break, we won’t kill each other!”

Vector: “That’s very brave of you to say, but it's best if we stop arguing back and forth with Monokuma, who knows what other deadly perks he has in his sleeves, I am saying that for your own good of course.”

Monokuma: “No no, let her keep talking, I welcome her resistance! The defiant spirit is very important to the killing game! Because it’s fun to watch the defiant ones eventually snap, and get their hands dirty...”

Kotori: “What?... I would never do that!”

Monokuma: “I saw this happening so many times and every time it’s so entertaining! It never gets old! And as the headmaster, it’s my job to force you to participate. Ahahahaha!”

Monokubs: “Kyahahahaha!”

I stood here… staggered in this awful feeling. Nothing made sense... why, I just kept asking why, but I couldn’t find any logical answers. Friends forced to kill each other? How can this situation be so twisted? Who is responsible for such a cruel thing? I had so many questions pondering in my mind, and then the fear of death finally struck me. I looked around, and everyone was staring at everyone, fear struck them all, and a tense atmosphere arose. Then everyone started to fear each other, this is not what it is supposed to be like… this is not… this is… is that fear that I am feeling?

END Prologue

* * *

A huge shoutout to sioninel a Tumblr friend who contributed and helped a lot with the progression of the story because I was stuck in so many parts, and with his help, we cleared so many bundles in the story

I made fan arts of Zexal cast in Danganronpa style

Here is [Kaito Tenjo](https://anannir.tumblr.com/post/619351093701492736/danganronpa-style-kaito-momot-sorry-kaito-frekin)

Here is [Chris Arclight](https://anannir.tumblr.com/post/619568103807959040/zexal-week-2020-free-day)

Here is [Thomas Arclight](https://anannir.tumblr.com/post/621620915511443456/zexal-x-danganronpa-crossover) and [Durbe](https://anannir.tumblr.com/post/621620915511443456/zexal-x-danganronpa-crossover)

Here is [Rio Kamishiro](https://anannir.tumblr.com/post/630276137536323584/zexal-x-danganronpa-crossover) and [Casewell Francis](https://anannir.tumblr.com/post/630276137536323584/zexal-x-danganronpa-crossover)

Here is [Ryouga Kamishiro](https://anannir.tumblr.com/post/634775157460844544/welcome-the-ultimate-emo-into-the-killing)

There will be edits of when I will add more characters


	2. Chapter 1 - Part 1: Rules of the Labyrinth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apology for taking so long, I was really busy and was trying to gain ideas for the future chapters. Chapter 1 is super long. I just truly hope you enjoy this crossover.  
> Also, there will be a lot of directions and movement between places, in the gameplay it was just the players visually moving around, so I decided that I will draw a map of the floors, post it to Tumblr and send the link here, so you visualise the places they are going to, which will be helpful for the future chapters...

**Chapter 1 - Part 1: Rules of the Labyrinth**

Soon after Monokuma left… a D-Pad half black and white was handed to each of us by the Monokubs, and suddenly an alarm rang from it. The alarm rang from every single D-Pad. On mine, a message was displayed on the screen…

Ultimate Academy e-Handbook: Kotori Mizuki

REGULATIONS

  1. Students must live at the Ultimate Academy for the remainder of their foreseeable future.
  2. Once a murder takes place, all surviving students must participate in a class trial.
  3. If the blackened is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be executed.
  4. If the blackened is not exposed, all remaining students will be executed.
  5. If the blackened survives the class trial, they will graduate and re-enter the outside world. 
  6. The killing game and class trial will continue until only two surviving students remain.
  7. “ **Nighttime** ” is from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. The dining hall and the gymnasium are off-limits at night. 
  8. Violence towards Monokuma, the headmaster of this Ultimate Academy, is strictly prohibited.
  9. Monokuma will never directly commit murder.
  10. Your new D-Pads are very important items. Please do not damage them.
  11. The body discovery announcement will play when three or more students will discover a body. 
  12. With minimal restrictions, you’re free to explore the campus at your discretion.
  13. Students who violate these rules will be immediately exterminated by the Exisals.
  14. The headmaster may add new regulations to this list any time.



Kotori: “No way… how horrible....” 

My whole body quivered in fright… killing game? _Regulations?_ There is just no way… No way we are participating in a… a killing game!

Vector: “So… these are the school regulations I see…”

Casewell: “T-These r-rules just make it look like a game or something!”

Anna: “Well, they called it a “killing game” for a reason.”

Casewell: “Games are supposed to be fun, how can killing someone be considered enjoyable?! Death is painful and permanent!”

Tetsuo: “How can killing be considered as just a game in the first place…”

Cathy: “And we are also forced to play it…”

Tokunosuke: “Why are they forcing us to play some s-sick game!”

The room was filled with an aura of despair and defeat, enveloping each of us. 

Monotaro: “Well, you guys are all ultimates here, so this shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

Haruto: “You brainless robots don’t get it do you?”

Droite: “I noticed for quite some time you’ve been referring to us as “Ultimates”... what do you mean by that?”

Monokubs: “Nyeh?!”

Monosuke: “By Ultimates we mean your **Super High School Level talent** that each of you have.”

Everyone: “Super-High-School-Level talent?...”

Why does that word sound so… familiar?

Alit: “H-Hey! I’ve been referred to as an ultimate before!”

Gilag: “Yeah… me too!”

Kotori: “Me too! I’ve been referred to as an “ **Ultimate Cheerleader** ”!”

Yuma: “I’ve been called an ultimate something before, not sure if it’s a talent though…”

Kotori: “You’re probably the “Ultimate Sleeper”, you sleep until late both in the morning and during the class!”

I burst out in laughter, which was soon joined by the others too, each of them at least had a small smile formed in their lips, while the others were all noisy. Yuma looked at me with a funny look, and then looked around at his shoulder scrutinizing his eyes.

Cathy: “I think he’s the “Ultimate Cutest Person”.”

Anna: “I agree! Wait, I-I didn’t say anything!”

Tetsuo: “Maybe he’s the “Ultimate Slug”, he never wins in a race and is slow metally too! Or maybe he’s the “Ultimate Unlucky student” hahahaha!”

Casewell: “To summarise, whether Yuma is an ultimate or not, we will always pick on him.”

Yuma: “Hey! I am not any of those! Okay maybe unlucky, but for some reason everyone else likes me to call the “ **Ultimate Lucky Student** ”, how funny is that?”

Kotori: “Well, I wouldn’t disagree with them, you always found your way out in the worst of the situations and duels, you’re lucky for sure!”

Ryouga: “You can say that with times 10, his luck is outrageous, it has to be a talent for sure.”

Kaito: “I agree with Ryouga.”

Yuma: “C’mon! Everyone knows that I am the “Ultimate WDC Champion”!”

Yuma stated the title proudly, but it was followed by another crowd of laughter. We found a little light of delightment and fun in this place of hell… Why did it have to be a “killing game”? We have to find our way out no matter what, and then things will get back to normal again, just like now, it will just be like the adventures we had, we will pass this through and be closer than ever.

Ryouga: “Well, I’ve been referred as an ultimate multiple times too, but is this related to this “Ultimate talent” thing anyway?”

Kaito : “Of course it is, being referred to as an “Ultimate” means that we are the very best at a particular field that we specialized ourselves in.”

Droite: “But I take it from what the bears said so far, that we need to use our “Ultimate talent” to start off the killing game...”

Chris: “So that’s what they meant… but why ultimates specifically?”

Monokid: “Well, no one wants to f*cking see plain commoners use their hella cheap murder plan to kill someone! We need mass slaughter, crushing someone’s skull so hard that all of their brains look like some mushy peas!”

Cathy: “Mewwww! Who is this sick frick who created you?! Nevermind, I don’t want to know anything about it...”

Vector: “So you want us to use our “Ultimate talent” to come up with the most gruesome and intricating murder that will be very difficult or even impossible to solve, _am I right_? In conclusion, it’s to make the class trial more interesting.”

Interesting?... What’s “interesting” about that? I took a sip of air, and called him out.

Kotori: “Wait, Vector! Why are you going along with this?”

Rio: “Kotori, it’s not worth talking him out, it’s better if you just ignore him for now…”

Alit: “Yeah, it’s not worth your time when it comes to that guy…”

Vector: “Ore ore… it didn’t take you a second to just throw your accusations at me, I just meant to ask a few questions to get a better understanding of what they want from us, for best of intentions of course.”

Ryouga: “Yeah, just keep those “good intentions” of yours away from us, and we are good.”

Mizael: “I swear Vector if you give in to this absurdity, I am going to punish you cut and dry!”

Vector: “Man… none of you will give me a break, huh…”

Things escalated because of me… *sigh* It’s time to make it right!

Kotori: “STOP! This is not the time to fight! We should work together to find the exit!”

Tetsuo: “But Kotori, we looked around already, and like Kaito said, there are walls and it won’t give us access to it, we are surrounded by it…”

Yuma: “If there is no access, then how did we get in? There must be a way out somewhere!”

Ryouga: “But if the access is controlled by the mastermind behind this whole thing and trapped us here, why would they let us go now?”

Gilag: “Then we just have to get to the mastermind, forcing our way through, and tell them to get us the hell outta here, if they don’t comply with good manners, then I guess I’ll just use my fists!”

Durbe: “Any idea of how to get to the mastermind?”

Gilag: “Of course I… wait…I...”

Alit: “ *sigh* Gilag, you don’t… but it’s okay, we just gotta search for them and then we’ll bust them out and teach them a lesson!”

Monotaro: “So I guess you don’t need us anymore...”

Monophanie: “I am sure they would be fine exploring the school on their own.”

Monokubs: “So long! Bear-Well!”

And then the monokubs disappeared.

Droite: “I suggest to divide ourselves to explore around the school to find any potential exits. It’s just as Kotori said, we need to work together if we want to get out of this place.”

Durbe: “Same, I think it’s better if we take a look around before any confrontation with the mastermind.”

As they said that, everyone left the gym one by one, until only Yuma and I were left. Wait, there was someone else too!

Kotori: “Rio, what are you doing still here?”

Rio: “I was just thinking about where to go, whyyy do you want me to leave you two in private?”

Yuma: “Ehhh?!”

Kotori: “I-I didn’t mean it like that!”

I felt the heat rising in my cheeks and getting all red, and ended up all blushy, which made Rio let a soft giggle because of it, so I decided to change the conversation.

Kotori: “By the way, I was curious about the “Ultimate talents”, since everyone here is an ultimate, what ultimate are you?”

Yuma: “I’ve been thinking about the same thing!”

Rio: “Oh! Well... just a fair warning, it’s not something you would expect, I am called the “ **Ultimate Sports Leader** ”.”

Yuma: “Woah! I thought it was related to ice for sure!”

Rio: “I am sure being able to handle cold is not a skill…”

Kotori: “I am not _that_ surprised since you totally rocked in every single sport the boys showcased to you to be their manager, unlucky for them they had to deal with the “Ultimate Sports Leader”! But as Yuma said, I also expected something to do with the ice since you’re basically the “Ice Queen”, you know like Ice Hockey or Ice Skating and other things involving ice.”

Rio: “Well, Ice Hockey and Ice Skating are sports too, and I am great at them just as any other sport. And yes, everyone gave me the nickname of “Ice Queen” because of my deck, the same way my brother got the nickname of “Shark”...”

As we finished the conversation with Rio about her “Ultimate talent”, Yuma and I headed out in the “Main corridor”, leaving her to decide. As we walked through the corridor, we headed towards the right and found ourselves in a long hallway, this place looked like a huge labyrinth, but we didn’t stop and continued to march ahead, and suddenly found ourselves in a gigantic door. Yuma and I opened the door, and I couldn’t take in what I was seeing…

It was a vast room with a pink diced floor with red-brick vibrant walls. There were many computers projecting locomotives and very detailed layers of it, and there seemed to be more stand desks with paper drawings and prototypes. Then there were enormous sized machinery and dangerous looking tools such as a chainsaw, chain blade, and drill that were just all hanging at the ceiling. Several forklift trucks were moving at the end of the room and many packages layed on the floor, with the names of the materials and tools inside each of them. At the side of the room there were many pipes of vehicle washing and their products just hanging there; the shelves were full of giant colours and paint sprays.

Yuma: “Woah! Look at that! Where are we?!”

Anna: “Hey! I didn’t see you two there, isn’t this just amazing?! This is my “ **Ultimate Research Lab** ”, one of the Monokubs told me!”

Kotori: “ “Ultimate Research Lab”... this place is filled with machinery of all kinds and railways… i-is that a huge saw blade?!”

Anna: “ _And_ everything I need to build a locomotive! There are also enough storages to store them! But it’s useless if I can’t drive them of course…”

Kotori: “Wait, does that mean you’re…”

Anna: “Yes! I am the “ **Ultimate Locomotive Builder**!”

Yuma: “That’s so cool!”

Kotori: “Yuma is right! Your talent is amazing!”

Anna: “Th-Thank you…”

As we showered her with compliments, her cheeks became pink as her dress. She tried to hide her blush at the corner with her bangs, but soon she snapped up like it never happened.

Anna: “Alright! I hope with these machines I can build my cannon again, and blow the heck out of this place with the mastermind in it! I-If I remember how I built it with Umimi, that is...”

Kotori: “I don’t think Monokuma will let you create a real cannon if you’re thinking of blowing up everything… even if you do, it’s better if you don’t use it, it might start the killing game…”

Yuma: “I hate to say it, but I agree with what Kotori just said now… we can’t do anything that can risk starting this killing game, no matter what!”

Anna: “Huh! I would never! Alright, I’ll try to be more careful with it…”

When we finished the conversation with Anna about her “Ultimate talent”, Yuma and I headed out to a long hallway. We walked towards the end of it, and when we reached a huge, round room called the “Main hall”, there were six doors leading to each different path traced for us. Yuma and I tried to open one of them, but it was locked. So we went to the next one, which opened to us and it led to another corridor. Eventually, we reached the end and found a blue door, and with a knock, we let ourselves in. 

This was also a very vast room with an indigo marble floor and a vibrant azure vibe from the whole room. The floor marble was hexagonally shaped. At the corner of the round room, there laid a twisted staircase connecting from the ceiling to the marble floor. There were many circular podiums emanating vibrant azure light, with spherical 3D projections of the planet’s spherical shape of different sizes, there were several computers with wires connected to them. At the side of the room, there were several keyboards with data and statistics projected above, but these projections were not normally what we saw inside the laboratory of the Tower; these seem more advanced and definitely neater!

Haruto: “Huh! Yuma and Kotori are here!”

Kaito: “What are you two doing here?...”

Yuma: “We were just exploring the area of the school, that’s all...”

Kotori: “Yeah, we were trying to check every single door, we didn’t mean to enter here unannounced...”

Haruto: “It’s fine you don’t have to worry, anyway, this is my big brother’s “Ultimate Research Lab”, I couldn’t find mine yet… it has to be another part of the school that is locked… so I was hanging out here.”

Kaito: “Don’t worry, I’ll try to explore around a bit more to find your “Ultimate Research Lab”, I’ll just check out a few stuff here and then we’ll go.”

Haruto: “It’s fine big brother! I think we searched enough already, besides your lab is cool and I like to be here! This one suits you way more than your Warehouse laboratory.”

Kotori: “There are so many things in this room, your talent is along the word technology and very difficult equations for sure, but what is your “Ultimate talent” called?”

Kaito: “Mathematics is an essential part of technology, and it is a very broad word, but I am referred as the “ **Ultimate Computist** ”.”

Kotori: “Computist? So your skill is the use of computations, I see... Since everyone here is an ultimate… what about you Haruto?”

Yuma: “Wait, a child can be an ultimate too?”

Haruto: “Yeah, I am an ultimate, but I didn't do much to earn that title though, but they call me the “ **Ultimate Prodigy** ”, after I built Orbital’s children.”

Kotori: “So you’re the one who built them… that’s amazing! What do you mean “you didn’t earn the title”? Not every kid of your age just happens to build robots, you know.”

Yuma: “And those weren’t just normal litterbots, those were high-tech with really cool AI robots too!”

Haruto: “But I just mushed up Obomi and Orbital’s design, and even used my big brother’s prototype of Orbital… I got his help with other things too, I am not a prodigy at all.”

Kaito: “I merely helped you find the materials you needed and some prototypes and designs, but you still did all the rest...”

After spending time with them and talking about their “Ultimate talents”, we headed out and exited the corridor, then we went to unlock another room in the Main Hall. This led to another long hallway with many doors. We tried to unlock the first one, and surprisingly, it opened! 

It was a huge room with fancy looking kitchen ornaments and many cooking utensils. There was a long oval table, which seemed to be automated as it was going in a circle, passing by every single chair - even the chairs looked fancy! At the centre of the wall there was something projected in it:

“Dining Hall Rules”

“You may eat any food you find in the dining hall.”

“Please take responsibility for all utensils and dishes used to and clean up after yourself.”

“The dining hall will be locked during nighttime.”

So these are the rules of the dining hall, huh…

Alit: “Oi Kotoriiii! Yumaaaa! Over here!”

Yuma: “Alito! Gilag! And Tetsuo! What are you guys doing here in times like this?”

Tetsuo: “These stressful situations make me hungry, you know…”

Gilag: “I didn’t have a single pork cutlet this whole day! *stomach ramble*”

Kotori: “Ah! What was that?! An Exisal!”

Gilag: “A-Ah… sorry! It was just my empty stomach…”

Alit: “Gilag, for Numeron’s sake, eat something! Actually, don’t eat anything, if the stomach rambling can get louder, it can destroy the windows here.”

Tetsuo: “But every single window is covered in barbed wires though…”

Yuma: “*sigh* You guys… *stomach ramble* ahhh I am hungry too!”

Kotori: “This is not the time Yumaaaa!”

I stormed at Yuma as his stomach started to ramble out of control, then we took a break and checked to see the food supplies. There was plenty enough to feed an army! There were all kinds of food freshly displayed, just for us! But for now, I took an armful of rice and salt and taught the boys making rice balls. We finally filled our tummy.

Tetsuo: “Kotori’s ones were super great!”

Alit: “Finally I perfected my rice balls just as Kotori’s!”

Gilag: “*cough cough* your rice balls are too spicy!- *breathes heavily* Kotori’s one was perfect…”

Yuma: “I really needed my Duel-fuel!”

As all of them praised, a pink faint of blush arose in my cheeks again.

Alit: “Yuma is definitely the “Ultimate Lucky Student” to have this delish every lunchtime!”

Kotori: “Not just that… Yuma has a bad habit of stealing half of my lunch every day!”

Yuma: “I said I was sorry, didn’t I? I didn’t steal your lunch for two days...”

Kotori: “Do you think two mere days is going to make up for the whole month?! Oh! This reminds me, what “Ultimate talents” do you guys have?”

Alit: “Owww...I thought it was obvious from the start, but it’s okay, I am the “ **Ultimate Boxer** ”! The champion amongst champions! I won various championships and belts all over the world! I am at the top of the universe!”

Yuma: “Sure you do! Soon enough I’ll also reach you because I am feeling the flowww!”

Kotori: “The “Ultimate Boxer”... it totally makes sense! What about you Gilag?”

Gilag: “It’s nothing that special, I am just the “ **Ultimate Bodyguard** ”. Haaaa... but I got to bodyguard Scarlet Starling, and spent all of my time with her. I was at the ninth cloud, that might be the only reason I became a bodyguard…”

Gilag totally broke eye contact with us and was staring at the ceiling with his hands in his chest, wow, he really must be in love...

Yuma: “A bodyguard?! That’s so cool!”

Tetsuo: “But being a bodyguard qualified to guard a celebrity like her is the wildest dream of any bodyguard… but I guess you did greater things in the Barian world…”

Alit: “Nah, everything was boring in there, it wasn’t even half as much fun we’re having here!”

Kotori: “What about you Tetsuo?”

Tetsuo: “What about me?”

Kotori: “What about your “Ultimate talent”?”

Tetsuo: “Oh! I am the “ **Ultimate Manufacturing Engineer** ” in the area of gears! But I mostly made toys and clocks… I am an ultimate only because I work with them faster than anyone… *sigh* I wish one day I can switch into Aerospace vehicles and sign up to a famous company… maybe even start my own business with my family!” 

Kotori: “You just gotta keep trying then and you can definitely do it! Just keep feeling the flowww!”

Yuma: “Hey! You stole my line!”

After spending some time with them and talking about their “Ultimate talents”, Yuma and I finally exited the dining hall, leaving them behind. From the hallway, we went ahead trying to unlock another door, but none of them opened, so we just marched until we found ourselves in a curvy hallway. We went to the right side as we could see a huge door leading us to an artificial courtyard, the sky was only a projection, what a disappointment… 

Cathy: “Hey you two, where are you going?”

Kotori: “We were just trying to find an exit, what else should we be doing?”

Cathy: “Then let me stop you right there! There wasn’t a single thing that could be called an exit here, the only thing I found was a dormitory made for each of us, they even customised and everything.”

Kotori: “A customised dormitory?...”

Yuma: “Wait, so we have to sleep inside this school! This is a nightmare!”

Cathy: “Yuma, you’re pretty slow today…”

Kotori: “He’s always like that… anyway, why would they go to all that trouble just to trap us?...” 

Cathy: “It must be connected to this “killing game”! I am worried, what if someone gets desperate to escape and finally starts it, and I am one of the victims!”

Kotori: “Cathy! If you panic, it will get worse! And I know that you might also be desperate to get out of the school for your cats, but perhaps this is what the mastermind really wants! So we need to stay strong, watch your back from Monokuma and those Monokubs, and have faith in everyone, we’ll definitely find a way to escape, we always did before!”

Yuma: “Kotori is right! I promise you we’ll be getting out of here no matter what!”

Cathy: “Thank you, you two, but I am not _that_ concerned about my cats right now, they can look after themselves even though they’ll be missing me a lot now, alright… I’ll try not to panic, with Yuma’s luck, we’ll definitely get out because I am feeling the flowww! Meow!”

Yuma: “Well said!”

Kotori: “If you end up missing your cats too much, you can go to your “Ultimate Research Lab”.”

Cathy: “I actually searched for it, but it seems only the first and second floor is accessible, from the outside we can see at least five floors…”

Kotori: “So it’s true that some parts of the school are locked… So Cathy, I know it’s kind of obvious what your “Ultimate talent” is, but just to confirm-”

Cathy: “Oh yes! I am the “ **Ultimate Cat Person** ”!

Kotori: “ U-Ultimate Cat Person… is that even a talent? I thought it was something like “Cat sitter”...”

Yuma: “Me too…”

Cathy: “ “Cat sitter”? Oh please, that’s like what a normal day of my life is, not a talent at all! I don’t only just look like a cat, behave, take care of and communicate with them! I know their anatomy like no one else, for your information I am already a qualified veterinarian for cats, I even had an operation on them and all of them were successful so far. I gave home with an eligible owner to at least 10,000 stray cats, I also trained them to work in the police department and even FBI! And more, but I guess from the look of your faces that this is plenty of how I got my title.”

Yuma: “WOAH! That’s amazing! Way more amazing than I imagined!”

Kotori: “What?! You really did all of that?... Your talent is way beyond than what the title implies! You’re like an U-Ultimate Cat Goddess or something! You might use these skills with other animals too!”

Cathy: “Here is the problem, I might be an ultimate and all, but my talents don't go beyond cats, I guess that’s why I am called the “Ultimate Cat person”...”

As we finished the conversation with Cathy and about her “Ultimate talent”, we went back to the round hallway and marched towards the right. Eventually, we reached a door with an image of a video game console, so in curiosity, we entered.

Kotori: “A game room in a school?...”

Yuma: “This is a really cool school! Wait, I need to focus on finding an exit!”

Casewell: “Hey Yuma! Kotori! Are you here to play some casinos too?”

Tokunosuke: “Hehehe, I can’t wait to put my hands on it and rig the game again!”

Casewell: “Hey! That’s why you won so many times! I should’ve known you did something!”

Kotori: “Guys… this is like the worst time you could pick to play casino…”

Yuma: “Wait! What if the casino gives us a key as a reward to open some of the doors?”

Kotori: “It’s very unlikely that the mastermind is just going to give a free give away chance to escape from this place…”

Casewell: “Or maybe they are just testing us! An exit is always found in the most unexpected places after all!”

Tokunosuke: “And if that’s the case, I am not throwing away my only chance to be useful!”

Kotori: “Guys we should seriously focus on getting out now, maybe I would expect Tokunosuke to come here, but Casewell, you too?”

Casewell: “I am not always defined by my logic when it comes to games… I just can’t help it. Because I am the “ **Ultimate Gamer** ”! I battled against all the gamers around the world in a single platform! And with my intelligence and logic, I beat each of them!”

Everyone: “What?!”

Tokunosuke: “Even someone like me didn’t know that!”

Casewell: “Which explains why you won against me, because you weren’t fair and square like I was!”

Yuma: “Now that I realise... I never won a single game against you!”

Kotori: “You lose to almost every single game Yuma…”

Tokunosuke: “Hehehe, you think you’ll steal the spotlight from me! So I’ll reveal my talent! I am the “ **Ultimate Crime Detector** ”!”

Casewell: “More like the “Ultimate Fraud”...”

Tokunosuke: “Hey! I left my past behind me, I was captured once by the local authorities after I caused some troubles, you know like my usual. Because they noticed my talent, they told me if I could catch more than ten frauds and criminals in Heartland, they would release me with no problems, and of course as an experienced like myself I found more than a hundred and trapped them like rats in a cage, and because I was so good, they made me join their forces as a Junior Detective Undercover so I can live my life as normal and also do my job! I don’t solve crimes but I can find their secret cave in a millisecond.”

Kotori: “That’s amazing Tokunosuke! You’re putting your skills actually to good use! But why haven't you told us until now?”

Yuma: “Because it was a secret that you didn’t tell us, right? Ahhh that’s so cool though!”

Casewell: Why is everyone’s attention always taken away from me?...”

As we finished our conversation about their “Ultimate talent”, Yuma and I headed out of the Game room. We walked ahead of the curvy hallway, and found ourselves in another very long and straight corridor. We finally reached the end of it and found in front of us a sliding door. We slid the door open and we found ourselves in an immense swimming pool.

Yuma: “Shark! I knew I would find you here, hehehe!”

Ryouga: “Did you just come all the way here just to bother my peaceful solitude? It’s like you after all…”

Kotori: “Don’t you think we should be searching for a way to escape this place?...”

Ryouga: “I am not interested, besides one of you is going to find a way out eventually, and until that moment comes, I'm just going to relax.”

Yuma: “But Shark, this isn’t like you…”

Ryouga: “No matter what you say Yuma, the mastermind already had us on our ropes the moment they gave out the first motive… Even if we swore to not start this damn killing game, someone will fall for the bait, and then it will get out of hand and just keep going on and on until all of us die, so if I have to die, then I am going to live my last moments in peace. Now leave me alone.”

What?... Shark giving up that easily?... 

Yuma: “Shark! I will never let you! I will never let you give up like this! Don’t you care about Rio?! Don’t you care about Durbe and the others?!”

Ryouga: “Are your ears tapped or what?! I never said I will give up! But unlike you I am not going to hopelessly search for every random door I find in my way! Now leave me alone Yuma, I can’t think when you’re stuck to me buzzing in my ear like a mosquito all the time!”

Yuma: “I am a mosquito?!”

Ryouga: “Yes you are-”

Kotori: “Both of you, shut up!”

As I yelled, Yuma complied, but Shark let out a groan, was this bothering him this much? 

Kotori: “Shark, Yuma and I know perfectly you don’t want to give up, we know you’re thinking this through to find a way to get to the mastermind and take our belongings, and give them what they deserve and escape this place, but shoving us out won’t help, if we don’t work together to show Monokuma that we are not playing under his hands, then he will come to get us and make us fall apart, and then the killings will really begin, so please!”

Ryouga: “I guess you have a point… I’ll see what I can do, but I still think it’s useless...”

Kotori: “I wonder, why did you come to hide yourself in a swimming pool? It’s not a good hiding spot...”

Ryouga: “I just thought to take a look at the swimming pool since I swim a lot…”

Kotori: “Oh, you’re the “Ultimate Swimmer” for sure, right Shark? It totally makes sense!”

Ryouga: “Not quite… unfortunately Rio is a better swimmer than me, it’s kind of embarrassing to admit but she broke my record multiple times... but there no one existent on this planet that can swim and train with dangerous marine animals, completely exposed like me! I am the “ **Ultimate Lifeguard** ”.”

A lifeguard? Shark? What’s happening today? Why am I discovering things that I never knew before?...

Kotori: “Wait, so you save people’s lives! I didn’t know this side of Shark...”

Yuma: “That’s sooo cool Shark! I always knew you had a good side!”

Ryouga: “Shut up you two! I was forced into this job! There was a public beach that didn't do their job right and let those sharks roam free! Those dumbheads let their visitors being eaten by those hungry sharks-”

Rio: “And since you couldn’t resist standing there and watching the scene, you jumped right into the water, wrestled with the shark and led them away in the deep water, and saved the couple that was involved in this incident. After this went to the news, you’ve got into pesky situations one after another, he became so famous that so many Reality TV show producers invited him to assist them if they were at the verge of death.”

Kotori: “You wrestled with a shark?...”

Yuma: “You totally showed who’s the boss! That must have been so cool to do!”

Ryouga: “R-Rio, when did you come here?”

Rio: “ _Is there a problem Ryouga?_ ”

Ryouga: “ *sigh* nothing…”

After spending some time with Shark and talking about his “Ultimate talent” we headed out of the swimming pool leaving the two siblings. As we passed through the courtyard, we noticed that the projection of the sky turned into a beautiful night sky full of stars… even if they were fake, they looked just as beautiful as the real ones…

Yuma: “Kotori, I guess it’s almost night time already…”

Kotori: “Let’s call it a day… then tomorrow we’ll do some more searching!”

We immediately headed back to the dormitory that Cathy mentioned to us. Just as Cathy said, each door looked as if customised, and if it wasn’t obvious enough which door was which, they put up a little picture of us. I entered mine. 

The room looked very modernised… There was a king sized bed with many cushions and a night table next to it, there was a huge desk with a velvet chair, and a little velvet sofa in front of the TV Projector. The bathroom was also very spacious, a regular dormitory room, nothing like my room... I miss it a lot...

Kotori: “So this is my room… it doesn’t look bad I guess… Wait, is that a key laying on the desk? Is the key to my room?”

I explored my room for a bit and noticed a sliding door… that must be my wardrobe.

Kotori: “Let’s check what’s inside to be safe.”

At my bewilderment there were many copies of the dress I was wearing... did the mastermind prepare all this just to trap us herr?... Why?...

With all the things that happened in a single day, I felt my legs give in to complete loss of balance in exhaustion, and soon my whole body did. I finally closed my eyes, and fell into deep sleep, wishing to wake up under my pink bed sheets and peluche in my bed, and this being just a bad dream… just a really bad dream…

…

...

Ding Bing Bong

Monokubs: “Rise and shine, ursine!”

Monophanie: “This is an official school announcement from the Ultimate Academy!”

Monosuke: “Right now is 8 a.m., so pull your asses out of your bed!”

Monokid: “I can’t wait to see if someone died today! Yoohoo!”

Monotaro: “I hope you enjoy your killing game semester!”

Monodam: “DON’T-FORGET-TO-GET-ALONG!”

With all the ruckus from the megaphone attached to the tele-screen, I awoke myself.

Kotori: “*sigh* Wouldn’t it be nice if it was just some bad dream… Wait, I have to get ready and get to the dining hall with everyone!”

As I got up from the bed I immediately sprinted myself towards the bathroom and got dressed ASAP. My hair bun was a complete mess, I was so exhausted that I totally forgot to take off my hair bow! When I finished to get prepared, I finally rushed out to the dining hall.

Kotori: “I’m here! Sorry I am late, my hair wasn’t the best this morning…”

Cathy: “Next time try to rush up a bit, if we can, you can too, people seriously started to think you were dead.”

Kotori: “Wait, WHAT? Of course I am alive!”

Vector: “Don’t be so hard on us, it’s not that surprising to think about the possibility after yesterday…”

Kotori: “We need to trust each other! We’re all friends! If we can’t trust our friends then how are we supposed to get out of this place together?”

Rio: “I hate to say this… but I agree with Vector. After what happened yesterday, we need to stay alert and focused. We decided that everyone was coming to the dining hall together for the same reason, didn’t we?”

As Rio finished her sentence, Monokuma appeared suddenly from nowhere.

Kotori: “Ah!”

Monokuma: “Nyehhh! I thought I told you the killing semester started already, I even gave you my first motive, but here you are all buddy buddy in the dining hall…”

Thomas: “It’s hysterical to think that _we_ would play your twisted games only for your poor theatrics…”

Monokuma: “Nyeh! Only poor theatrics… Puhuhu that means I got this all wrong!”

Thomas: “Yes, from the very beginning!”

Monokuma: “Be quiet for a minute will ya?! _I said_ I got this all wrong! The reason you haven’t killed each other yet it’s not because you guys are all buddies, but because you can’t take this game seriously, hahaha! After all I should have imagined after all you guys went through, you would feel the hope bloom in the air, use the power of cards to determine your fate to magically save you through despairful moments! Well, let’s see how you punkasses survive in the wild and bloodshed, without using your cards as a concealment for your false bravado! Welcome to the real world!”

Yuma: “You’re wrong about everything Monokuma! Each of the decks you've stolen has an owner, we are the owners of them! There was no easy way we used and gained those cards and came so far! We faced many challenges with high stakes, where we used our mind, our body, our emotions into each and every single duel to the breaking point so we could survive! All the challenges we faced, we passed through them all because we fought with all we’ve got, cards or without, together we’re strong enough to face anything! And I will never let someone like you to trivialize our power and our worth, you’re just another enemy we need to take down!”

When Yuma ended his speech, a smile formed across each of our faces, there was a sense of empowerment flowing through each of us. At the plain sight, Monokuma stood there staring at the floor, shuddering in frustration, which made my heart palpitate in a jolt of happiness.

Ryouga: “What about now Monokuma? Do you still really expect us to fall into your game?”

Casewell: “In the end, you’re just as vulnerable.”

Monokuma: “Hahahaha! You guys are too overly confident, this can sure lead to your downfall, but since you guys are so experienced in these types of situations, let’s raise the ante a bit, shall we? Here I will announce the second motive! Open your ears wide and clear! There will be a time limit in effect! If a murder does not occur by **night-time by tomorrow** , then every student participating in this killing game will die! Sentenced to an atrociously excruciating, atrociously despairful execution! And please save your swaggering and start watching your back a bit more, just a friendly advice, ahhh-hahaha!” 

...

What?... Everyone… will die?... Why?... WHY!

We pierced our eyes towards Monokuma with a sheer coldness… the fear, the anger, and frustration surged in my chest, but I still didn’t want to give up, I didn’t want the mastermind to have their way!

Kotori: “Why are you doing this to us? Why are you putting us through all this suffering?!”

Monokuma: “Well, if you’re suffering then you just gotta kill, right?”

Yuma: “You bastard!”

Monokuma: “Do you guys finally see that you are utterly powerless on your own? So just knock off that facade of yours already! And do what you gotta do, or just die, that’s fine by me too!”

Vector: “...”

Kaito: “So all of this is just a big lesson from you to us?”

Monokuma: “It isn’t just a lesson, I just came clean with the bitter reality with you, so you can finally realise you’re utterly powerless within my regime and finally start this killing game! After all, it is my duty as the headmaster of this Ultimate Academy to encourage my students to participate! Well it’s all up to you to decide what to do next, to sacrifice your friends for your own survival or just die together. It’s your call. Ah-hahaha!” 

After Monokuma left, the room was filled with an utter feeling of despair.

Tokunosuke: “I-I-I don’t want to die yet… I still have so much to do...”

Tetsuo: “No one is going to die! We still have more than 24 hours to come up with something! Or we can confront Monokuma when the time limit ends!”

Yuma: “Tetsuo is right! We can’t give up just now!”

Tron: “I hate to admit it but the odds are not in our favour right now... I am not concerned with Monokuma itself, but the person who controls Monokuma, the mastermind...”

Droite: “Perhaps when the time limit will reach the end, we get the chance to see that person, and confront them.”

Kaito: “However this looks like an elaborate set up, there might be more than one person behind it, they might decide to not reveal themselves at all to be in the safe zone.”

Chris: “I still don’t understand their objective…”

Durbe: “Whatever their objective is, it entails in our suffering.”

Rio: “Then we need to use this time wisely, we have to come up with a good plan as soon as possible."

Ryouga: "Otherwise we risk our necks, I am leaving…”

With that Rio and Ryouga exited the dining hall with a distressed expression in their faces.

Vector: “I am going out too.”

Then Vector also parted ways. Vector seemed the most affected, almost defeated after Monokuma’s announcement, usually he would speak his way out to Monokuma to learn more about his plan, but he remained quiet… Monokuma’s behaviour oddly resembled the Vector that we got to know as a Barian, now he’s on our side, maybe the switch of perspective did really affect him?

Slowly, everyone started to go in their ways, leaving Yuma and I in the dining hall. 

Kotori: "What should we do now?..."

Yuma: "What we were already doing, try to find an exit and the mastermind so we can all escape..."

After we exited the dining hall, we found ourselves clashing against Tron.

Tron: "Geez! Can’t you be more respectful to your elders! If Kazuma couldn’t, then I will teach you a lesson!"

Yuma: "Sorry I-I didn't mean to!"

Kotori: "Yuma didn’t mean to! Everyone is still kind of left shaken by the announcement…"

Tron: "Hahaha, I can understand that… Death is so close that I can even feel it at the palm of my hands, just like that day... The afterlife wasn’t a pleasant experience for me the first time... 

Kotori: “Mr. Byron…”

Yuma: “What are you on about… We’re not going to die! We are definitely going to win against them!”

Tron: “You’re just your usual, but let me give you a fair warning, this is not going to be an easy challenge for you, I hope you take my word to heart, Yuma. I saw this place before, even if my memories are indistinct, I have an inkling of how this place works. And from personal experience, I know for a fact, it’s not something to be messed with.” 

Kotori: “But how can you be so sure?”

Tron: “If I wasn’t that sure, then I've been called the “ **Ultimate Physicist** ” my entire life for nothing.”

Kotori: “The “Ultimate Physicist”... so you might find a way to escape through these walls!”

Yuma: “Wait, if you know how this place works, there is a chance you can take on the mastermind too!”

Tron: “As I already told you, it’s not going to be that easy… you might have the chance to learn more if we ever survive this, but that’s all I am going to say...”

And with that, he turned his back against us, and just disappeared at the end of the long hallway…

Then we decided it was better if we started to search for a potential exit instead of standing at one spot, we went ahead and turned towards our left, which led to a long hallway. When we reached the end, we found another curvy hallway, then something caught our eye, there was a huge staircase leading to the second floor, which we didn't get the chance to fully explore yet. Eventually we took the stairs and a huge wooden door appeared in front of us, and Yuma hesitantly opened the door.

It was a vast room and definately much larger than any other research lab, it had three floors in total! The floor was made of marble and there were many hanging bones of very huge mammals. There were glass cases displaying chinese antiques, glasses, and plates made of porcelain and jade, but next to them there were many sharp teeth and bones, but those were only ornaments. There were hanging chains, katanas, aeroblades, and just so many things! There were even practice dummies surrounding the room. There were recurring symbols and sculptures of dragons in the columns, they were printed in the flags and even in the windows.

Durbe: “Yuma and Kotori?...”

Yuma: “Sorry for intruding, did I surprise you two?”

Mizael: “Your arrival was truly unexpected, but you’re welcome… So this is my research lab, huh.”

Kotori: “Are they real bones of animals?...”

Durbe: “These research labs seem to portray themes of your talent to cultivate on another scale…”

Kotori: “Sorry to budge but what ultimate are you Mizael?”

Mizael: “Do I really have to state the obvious? This time make sure to mark it inside your head! I am the “Ultimate Dragon Tamer”, but people call me the “ **Ultimate Tamer** ” because I can tame most animals in the world.”

Yuma: “Wait, didn’t you lose against Kaito… how can you-”

Mizael: “Kaito might have proven himself in our encounter on the moon but I’ve always been the true master, Kaito never experienced himself around the real wildness and tamed a real dragon the way I had. And if you think the resolve of our rivalry has come to an end, you can’t be more wrong, even if he’s my comrade and friend now, we’ll be rivals forever.”

Yuma: “And make sure to let me know, I can’t miss that duel for the world!”

Mizael: “Will do, it will quite be the show.”

Kotori: “Well, first we need to beat the mastermind and get our decks back.”

Yuma: “Of course we will! By the way, what are you doing here Durbe?"

Durbe: "Mizael and I decided to explore around the school to find any clue or a hint of where possibly the mastermind could be hiding, the floors beyond the second floor are locked, since the monokubs told me that everyone has their own research lab, the fact mine wasn't found yet, it proves there are more floors. We checked the whole second floor, until we ended up encountering Mizael's research lab instead."

Kotori: "From the courtyard we could see there were five rows, also Mizael's research lab has three staircases, which ultimately shows some areas are locked, which is where your research lab is! This makes me wonder, what Ultimate are you Durbe, if you don't mind me asking?" 

Durbe: "Sure, I have been named the " **Ultimate Cavalry** "."

Kotori: "Wait… cavalry?!"

Yuma: “I heard that word in a History lecture!”

Kotori: “But you’re not even awake in any of the lessons…”

Durbe: “I have a feeling you guys don’t know that cavalries still exist… as you know I happen to have built a reputation around my victories at horse riding competitions after one competition footage went viral about one of the contestant’s horse escaping the equestrian. One day I happened to be watched by an important person during my sword fighting practice, and they suggested that I would make a great mounted officer or even be a Royal cavalry, I wasn’t interested in anything at that time so I followed the advice.”

Kotori: “And that’s how you’ve become an “Ultimate Cavalry”, that's so cool!”

Yuma: “So you’re a modern cavalry officer, I see...”

Mizael: “I don’t mean to brusquely interrupt the conversation but I think it’s enough chat for the day. We don’t have much time left to goof around after the second motive Monokuma gave. We have to focus on finding the mastermind for now.”

Yuma: “Yeah…”

As we finished the conversation about their “Ultimate talent”, we exited the “Ultimate Dragon Tamer’s” research lab and found ourselves in a long corridor, since Durbe and Mizael seemed to have already explored the second floor, we decided to return to the first floor. After going in circles for a bit, we eventually got to the same hallway of the "Game Room". As we passed by that hallway, an unexpected greeting awaited for us.

Vector: "Yumaaa, Kotoriii! Where are you two going?"

Kotori: "V-Vector…"

Yuma: "Vector, I see you've been kind of goofing around this area for a while, any news about the mastermind?"

Vector: "No, not yet…"

Those words cracked in the sentence, his eyelids faced the floor and rolled right back at us, did Monokuma's threats really affect him that deep?

Kotori: "Vector, tell me something… you didn't look good at all, after the second motive Monokuma gave us…"

Vector: "Everything is fine, I have just been contemplating how Monokuma exploited us to incite this killing game."

Yuma: "Exploited… us?"

Vector: "It's nothing… by the way, have you found your research labs yet?"

Kotori: "We haven't found ours yet, but we didn't explore much, I am sure we'll find it soon, what about you?"

Vector: "I couldn't find mine yet, I am sure it's beyond the second floor."

Yuma: "So what ultimate are you Vector?"

Kotori: "Honestly I am super curious to hear."

Vector: "Answering this question to you guys makes me feel a bit depressed you know…, but I guess I am going to say it again for clearance, I am the " **Ultimate Actor** "..."

Kotori: "Oh yeah, you appeared in so many movies and won many awards by now, I should have known that was your real talent!"

Vector: "Now I am questioning how many of them you've actually seen…"

Kotori: "I have seen them all with Yuma! _Right_?"

Yuma: " _Yep_!"

Vector: "*sigh* I feel more depressed now..."

After we finished our conversation with Vector about his "Ultimate talent", we headed towards the huge door next to him, which led us into the… "Library"!

I would have expected an ancient dusty library for an Ultimate Academy, however it wasn't too shabby. It gave off a brownish vibe like a classic library would. The room was surrounded with shelves full of books with the topics in the palette attached at the corner of the rows. The ceiling was made of several wooden piles at the top of each other, in between there were fans. Then at the corner of the library we heard a ramble.

Michael: "Yuma, Kotori!"

Yuma: "Michael! Chris!"

Kotori: "I should have known you two would come here at moments like this."

Chris: "We are just trying to make sure that we have covered every single area, more like I am since my brother got infatuated with the books here…"

Michael: "They have all unique and rare collections of books about of Aztec Empire, Inca, Byzantine! And! And-"

Chris: "It's been like this since we got into the library…"

Kotori: "You seem to be really passionate about it, it must be a talent of yours for sure!"

Michael: "It is, I am the " **Ultimate Archeologist** "! I studied so many artefacts in school and proposed new theories about the prehistory of the Empires I've mentioned!"

Kotori: "So that's what these objects were for!'

Yuma: "But please next time don't borrow and dissect my father's souvenir from his journeys, he was depressed when he found you dissected his Aztec mask…"

Michael: "S-Sorry, hehe, it couldn't be helped... I'll do an excavation on my own the next time or just make a copy of the souvenir, if your father will let me that is…"

Kotori: "What about you Chris? What ultimate are you?"

Chris: "With pleasure, I am the " **Ultimate Astronomical Engineer** ". The Universe is a vast and complex place, full of endless possibilities, which is why many people get interested in them. However those very people envelope themselves in conjectures because they struggle to find a pathway of what they want to research. I have created countless machines and gadgets to study the Universe with my father, which granted me this title."

Kotori: "This sounds amazing!"

Yuma: "Yeah!"

Michael: "Indeed. It's been nice talking to you two, hope we pass through this and survive against the mastermind…"

Chris: "And likewise, we'll have the chance to talk more once we get out of this place."

As we finished our conversation about their "Ultimate talent", Chris and Michael left the library. Once we also started to head out, my eyes caught another person standing at the opposite side of the room.

Kotori: "Hi Droite!"

Yuma: "Hey! I almost didn't see you!"

Droite: "Hi you two… what are you doing still here?"

Kotori: "We were just about to head out, it seems that finding the mastermind it's getting tougher and tougher."

Droite: "I see…"

And with that she rolled her eyes towards the shelf,as if trying to avoid our gaze, almost feeling uncomfortable by our greeting. 

Yuma: "Droite… are you okay-AYYY?! OOOH! AH!"

As Yuma queried her strange behaviour, Yuma accidently tripped over the books that were scattered and layed on the floor, and bumped into the shelf. Then suddenly, a huge screech and a roaring sound was heard around the library. Droite immediately looked towards the shelf, it opened itself! And it revealed a black and white door, with no knobs but a **D-Gazer reader** attached to the wall. It had the same colour of Monokuma!

Kotori: "A hidden door!"

Droite: "I guess Yuma is called the "Ultimate Lucky Student" for a reason…"

Yuma: "Ouuuuch! HUH! That door looks like Monokuma!"

Kotori: "Did you know about this Droite?"

Droite: "I found the hidden door before Chris and Michael arrived… This floor had scratches, and the top of this bookshelf doesn't have the pile of books like the others, which is usually an indication of a hidden door."

Kotori: "But why were you so secretive about this?"

Droite: "As you might have figured out, this hidden door belongs to the mastermind to enter and exit as they wish, Monokuma doesn't need a hidden door, he could just used one of his Exisals or traps to protect himself from us, so it's probable that is the mastermind passing through this door with the card reader to spy on us or communicate in secret with one of us that formed an alliance with them… if you think about it, Monokuma would know certain things about certain people…"

Kotori and Yuma: "One of us is working with the mastermind?!"

One of us?... One of our friends is betraying us?...

Droite: "I know it's hard to believe, and trust me I feel the same way… I don't expect you to believe me, but these were my deductions so far as the " **Ultimate Analyst** ". No one should know about this for now, it could cause a panic and would feed more into Monokuma's plans. I thought if I told you this, you two might want to get involved…"

Yuma: "Even if it's hard to believe… I believe you Droite! I won't let my feelings get in the way of saving my friends! I've been fooled in the past, but this time I will find that person and save everyone!"

Kotori: "Yuma…" 

Yuma: "So please! Let us help you to find the mastermind!"

Droite: "I would really advice you not get involved-"

Suddenly, Droite interrupted herself at a sudden blasting sound. The electric shock vibrated around the library and all the lights turned off. The room started to get windy and a screeching sound was heard from the ceiling.

Droite: "This is the second time it happened, it happens a minute later after I open this hidden door…"

And then a minute later the lights were turned on.

Kotori: "What happened?!"

Monophanie: "Oh no! This library has some problems with the wires!"

Yuma: "W-when did you appear?!"

Monophanie: "Don't worry, I am only here to fix the problem! Geez, for some odd reason today there were high electric volts released throughout the library, I had to turn off twice! When that happens the devices that are turned on, they go off and vice versa."

Droite: "I see…"

Monophanie: "So sorry for the inconvenience, unfortunately I couldn't find the root of the problem but if it happens, you just have to turn off the lever in that room at the opposite side of the library right at the corner!"

Kotori: "That looks like a storage room…"

Monophanie: "That room contains the lever of bringing things back to normal!"

Droite: "How long does it happen?"

Monophanie: "I would say around **5 minutes**."

Droite: "That's all we need to know."

Monophanie: "Umm okay… so long, bear well!"

And with that she disappeared.

Droite: "Every time I opened the door, a blackout appeared after 1 minutes. The light turning off, the screeching sound of the fan, 5 minutes. That was purposefully designed for the mastermind to pass this door unnoticed."

Yuma: "So the backout is connected to the shelf! I would have never figured it out! You're definitely an analyst for sure!" 

Kotori: “Using this we can create a trap, we can finally catch the mastermind and confront them!"

Yuma: "That's a great idea! Finally we are getting somewhere!"

Droite: "I said I don't want you to get involved in any of this! I am taking care of this with the others! If you do something reckless, everything will go wrong!"

Kotori: "You don't have to worry about the plan failing, we have Yuma's luck with us after all! Droite... if we don't catch the mastermind, everyone is going to die, we have to avoid that at all costs!"

Droite: "Then do whatever you want, it's not like I can stop you anyway… I wish you the best of luck."

After finishing our conversation with Droite, we finally exited the library. We reached the curvy hallway and marched ahead without stopping, we finally found a straight corridor at our right. It was a very short corridor, at the very end there was an open room full of shelves on an incredibly big scale, is this a warehouse! 

Kotori: “Yuma, there is a full box of pliers and cutters, I think we need them for the trap.”

Yuma: “Take them, just try to fit them as much as possible into your backpack.”

Then at the distance from the entrance, we could hear a voice calling to us.

Thomas: “Hey, you two! Are you here to search for something or what?”

Yuma: “Actually… yes!”

Kotori: “*whisper* Yuma! We can’t talk about the trap to anyone!”

Yuma: “Alright alright…”

Thomas: “Are you guys whispering about? Are you gossiping about me? At least don’t make it obvious…”

Kotori: “W-we weren’t talking about you!”

Yuma: “By the way, what were you searching for?”

Thomas: “Trying to change the conversation, huh? Anyway, I wasn't searching for anything in particular, I just came here to have a look around and these caught my eye.”

Kotori: “They look just like some regular giant ball of strings… but more giant?”

Thomas: “Well they aren’t, these are very sturdy, and I know it because I am the “ **Ultimate Marionettist** ”. I used them quite often, they usually have a special blue pack that looked similar to the ones I use, so I checked the label. They come in really handy when you are too lazy to go to the shop, they are incredibly long and wide!”

Practically unbreakable?... These would come really handy if we used them for our trap…

Kotori: Yuma! These would be perfect!”

Thomas: “Perfect for what?...”

Yuma: “K-Kotori and I decided to make a trap for Monokuma! These strings would help a lot for the trap, we need to capture him before it’s too late…”

Thomas: “I see, feel free to take them as much as you want, here take it Yuma and give hell to that bear!”

As Four granted his permission, I immediately took the pack and shoved it into my fluffy, pink little backpack.

Kotori: “Thank you it will help us a lot.”

Thomas: “Make sure to tell me if your plan went successfully!”

Kotori: “I will…”

As we finished the conversation with Four, he left the warehouse leaving me and Yuma by ourselves. Eventually Yuma and I headed out to the warehouse too, but then I suddenly froze… Will our plan really work? After trapping the mastermind, they might just call the Exisals to free themselves… I have to try my hardest to try to save everyone! I have to cheer on for everybody and encourage them... because I am the “Ultimate Cheerleader”!

Kotori: “Yuma! Wait for me!”

As we tried to reach the dormitory, we ended up a bit lost through this huge labyrinth, so we decided to pass through doors that were familiar to us. We eventually reached the “Main Corridor”, the same corridor as the gym, but something caught my eye.

Kotori: “Yuma! That door has a pom pom drawn on it! Maybe that’s my research lab!”

Yuma: “How come we didn’t see it before?...”

Monotaro: “Sorry about that! Some research labs were not ready so we spent the whole day finishing the final touches, the ultimate cheerleader lab is ready now!”

And after that short note, he vanished. I immediately rushed inside. It was filled with props, equipment, pom pom sticks, dummies, everything a cheerleader needs to train with! My hands immediately went on the pom pom sticks and I twirled around for a while. As the stick was swirling, it emitted lasers at the movement, it was so cool!

Yuma: “This room is filled with every gymnastic equipment…”

Kotori: “There are stunt straps, stunt stands, full up machines, balance discs, thousands of knee bands, a shelf full of Bruise MD cream!”

As I explored my research lab for a bit, my body felt exhausted and my eyelids started to close itself… I took my pom pom stick with me and swirled it on our way towards the dormitory. I was physically and mentally exhausted… this might be my last night… I took a deep breath... and fell asleep...


	3. Chapter 1 - Part 2: Rules of the Labyrinth

**Chapter 1 - Part 2: Rules of the Labyrinth**

Ding Dong Bing Bong

Monotaro: “This is the official school announcement from the Ultimate Academy!”

Monophanie: “Right now is 8 a.m. so get out of bed and get yourself a healthy breakfast!”

Monokid: “There are a lot of cans and bottles full of soda in the Dining Hall! That sh*it is real healthy, it makes you all energised!” 

Monosuke: “Monokid you need to pay more attention in Biology lessons…”

Monodam: “MAYBE-THAT’S-WHY-HE’S-LIKE-THIS”

Monokid: "I'll turn Monodam into a soda can in a second!"

Monophanie: "Hey hey don't fight! Anyway looks like we gotta go now. Monotaro make sure they don't fight!"

Monokubs: "So long! Bear well!"

The announcement finally shut itself. I gnawed and stretched myself to shake off the feeling of dizziness. Today the time limit expires… time flew so fast… but Yuma and I made progress yesterday, we’re going to set the trap, and expose the mastermind today! But we have to be careful, we can’t let the mastermind or anyone know about this…

I finally got dressed, got my bun ready, and went to knock on Yuma’s door. He opened the door and nodded.

Yuma: “Today is the day…”

Kotori: “We need to work on our trap today to expose the mastermind, no matter what, this is the only chance we have…”

With that, we headed towards the Dining Hall for breakfast. However, oddly enough, the door was already open, but we were the first people to arrive. We took this time to make our own breakfast, while slowly people were coming in.

Alito: “ *sniff sniff* What’s that wonderful smell?”

Cathy: “So you tried to be punctual this time!”

Kotori: “If you’re going to put it like that…”

Anna: “Kotori! Teach me how to cook! If this is going to be my last day, I want to give it a shot!”

Kotori: “Anna this is not going to be our last day! And yes, I can teach it to you if you really want…”

Then I took an armful of rice, some cans full of tuna and mackerel and other ingredients, and showed Anna step by step of me making an onigiri, one of the most basic foods to make.

Anna: “How you make that damn triangle! The rice is supposed to be sticky but it falls off!”

Kotori: “That’s because you’re not holding the right way, here, let me show you.”

…

Anna: “Oh! So that’s how you do it! It’s easy peasy!”

Cathy: “I’ll prepare the salad and sushi then!”

And then more people joined the Dining Hall, it seemed to be Michael, Four and Haruto.

Haruto: “Hi everyone!”

Michael: “I see the cooking started already, not to boast but I have made myself a pro in cooking. I can prepare some dishes if you want.”

Kotori: “Here Michael, there is plenty of space for you!”

Thomas: “Oi Michael, prepare some coffee!”

Tetsuo: “Can someone make some tamagoyaki? My stomach has been craving for them like crazy!”

Michael: “Brother, please after requesting something say “please”, it’s basic human courtesy. And also I’ll make some tamagoyaki then!”

Yuma: “Don’t forget the Duel-rice balls!”

Anna: “Don’t worry Yuma! Now that I learned how to make them, I’ll make them for you right away!”

Cathy: “*hiss* As if I’ll let you!”

Gilag: “Does that mean I can have lunch for breakfast? Hahaha!”

Rio: “It’s not going to look good for your physique as a bodyguard if you don’t control your diet.” 

Gilag: “Arrgh!”

After a while we slowly filled the table with food, which was automated and rotated reaching every single chair.

Everyone: “Itadakimasu!”

Ryouga: “Agh…”

Rio: “Oh my Ryouga, your miso soup has onions, you’ll have to force yourself to eat it. It would be rude if you didn't...”

Michael: “Does he have a disliking of onions?... I a-am sorry, I didn’t know this!”

Ryouga: "Rio!"

Kotori: “I completely forgot that you hate onions and peppers! I put both in the veggies!”

Thomas: "Oh ho ho! Shark has a dislike of onions and peppers? I didn't know you were such a picky little fish, naughty boy! Hahaha!”

Then it was followed by a crowd of laughs and giggles.

Michael: “Brother, it’s rude to laugh at something like that…”

Ryouga: "Shut your mouth, Four! Otherwise I'll do it for you!"

Thomas: "You don't need to be so hostile, especially on a day like this…"

Here it is again, the remainder of that despair… Everyone stayed still, looking blankly at their food.

Casewell: "Whether this is our last day or not… I am happy for this delicious meal in the company of my friends…"

Tokunosuke: "I-I ngh *sniff*! I f-feel the same w-way ngh! *sniff*"

Tetsuo: "S-Shut it! We can't give up..."

Alito: "When the mastermind will reveal themselves I will punch them to death, that much I promise!"

Cathy: "And I'll rip those Monokubs so they can't use those Exisals! They sure don't have a spare, right?"

Vector: “This won’t be our last day if it goes as I planned…”

Gilag: “What do you mean? Did you already figure out their hiding spot?”

Durbe: “If so, then I demand conclusive answers from you.”

Vector: “Calm down, if you really want the answers, then go look for it on your own, I don’t want you guys to stick to me like a shadow and interfere! You’ll be just a buzzkill.”

Mizael: “What did you say?”

Kotori: “G-guys, calm down, Vector is just pulling his strings with you guys to make you all annoyed by him, right Vector?"

Vector: "..."

And then without another sound, he left the Dining Hall.

Yuma: "V-Vector!"

And Yuma immediately followed after him.

Kotori: "Y-Yuma!"

Tetsuo: "I know he said he will stop the mastermind, but I have a very bad feeling…"

Kotori: "Me too… He's not going to do anything reckless, is he?"

Ryouga: "Only time will tell at this point, you never know when it comes to that guy..."

Rio: "Not much time is left, I suggest we combat with Monokuma and mastermind when the time will come, I will not entrust something like this to Vector, it’s dangerous.”

Casewell: “But what if he really happens to have found something that would really stop this killing game...”

Tetsuo: “Still he shoved everyone from it, he’s not gonna reveal it to us before it’s too late…”

Mizael: “We have two options then, find out Vector’s plans or wait for the time limit to end to confront Monokuma and the mastermind.”

Then one by one they exited the Dining hall, leaving me, Four, Michael and Haruto.

Kotori: “I just happened to notice something…”

Michael: “What is it?”

Kotori: “There were fewer people here, then I noticed that Kaito, Droite, your father and Chris weren't in the Dining hall…”

Haruto: “My big brother said that he had some things to do with them, he didn’t want to give the details though…”

Kotori: “But it’s very weird that your big brother let you come here on your own… I-I don’t mean anything by it but since today… you know… I thought he would be much more worried for you than the usual.”

Haruto: “But he is much more worried than the usual, so worried that he almost skipped breakfast. He didn’t eat anything yesterday or within these days at all, if it wasn't for Droite preparing breakfast early morning, he might have collapsed.”

So that's why the Dining hall door was open...

Thomas: “He also seemed very hesitant when we suggested taking Haruto to have breakfast in the Dining hall. It was because Chris convinced him...”

Kotori: “I see…”

Michael: “It’s better if we take him back to Kaito now…”

Kotori: “Yeah…”

And then the two of them closely escorted him, leaving me behind on my own. Where did Yuma even go?! We were supposed to create that trap! I can’t even call him with my D-Gazer, they completely took that function away! However, right after I heard a rushing sound of footsteps that reached towards the door.

Kotori: “Yuma!”

Yuma: “Sorry I took so long...”

Kotori: “So what happened with Vector?…”

Yuma: “...”

* * *

_Yuma: “Wait! Where are you going?!”_

_Vector: “Why are you following me…”_

_Yuma: “Because Rei Shingetsu is my friend, that’s why!”_

_Vector: “...You’re an idiot, Yuma.”_

_Yuma: “Huh?”_

_Vector: “You’re the most idiotic person I’ve ever met! Your level of stupidity was not matched by a single person in this entire universe! You’re so stupid that... it’s even painful for me to look at! But I don’t have a choice... other than to exploit it…”_

_Yuma: “Rei, what are you saying?...”_

_Vector: “Yuma, I might be the “Ultimate Actor”, but actors have to eventually let go of their characters. I am no longer Rei Shingetsu, I am Vector, get that in your head once and for all.”_

_Yuma: “No matter what you say, you’ll always be Rei Shingetsu to me!”_

_Vector: “Yuma, you might have always had your way in these despairful situations, but if you’re this stubborn, not even your talent might save you this time. But since you’re so petty, I might show you the “Ray way”, someday in the near future, if we ever survive this that is... you won’t like it…”_

* * *

Yuma: “He was just his usual self…”

Kotori: “Do you think he plans on starting this killing game?”

Yuma: “A part of me wants to doubt him and stop whatever he’s planning on doing, and there is another part of me… that wants to believe him. I know I can talk him out!”

Kotori: “But Yuma, the time limit expires today! We don’t have enough time for that.”

Yuma: “You’re right, we need to work on the trap first and foremost! Let’s go then!”

Kotori: “B-But before that…”

I felt a sudden pain rush through my stomach, it felt getting heavier… so I clutched to my waist tightly.

Yuma: “Kotori are you ok?!”

Kotori: “My stomach hurts… I need to… I need to go to the bathroom!”

Yuma: “Huh! Now?”

Kotori: “Yes, now! And you have to come with me so I don’t lose your track again! You just have to wait outside the door!”

Yuma: “Alright, but I didn’t see any Girl’s bathroom on the first floor…”

Kotori: “Then it has to be on the second floor. C’mon, hurry up!”

Then after a few minutes of roaming around, we finally found it! I couldn’t take it any longer, so I immediately rushed inside.

…

... 

Kotori: “*sigh* Feel much better now…”

I quickly washed my hands, while staring around the bathroom. It was nice and modernised just like other rooms, it was much cleaner than how a school bathroom is supposed to be. As I finished drying my hands at the corner of the bathroom, I felt an invisible gaze, a sense that left me feeling anxious, until I caught what it was…

Kotori: “A security camera… here?!”

It was very small, as small as an insect, so small that I couldn’t even fit it in my fingers because it’s that small. It rested next to the vent grade, completely attached to the wall. I carefully opened the vent grade to have a closer look, there is just no way I could take it off...

Kotori: “W-what is a security camera doing in the bathroom… Don’t tell me-”

Monokuma: “You’ve been inside the toilet for a very long amount of minutes, so long that if I got gunpowder for each minute you took, I could conquer a whole dynasty. Did you have too much spice in the morning? Too many portions?”

Kotori: “Aaaaaaahhh!”

Monokuma: “Did I surprise you?”

Kotori: “So it’s true... you use those cameras to... peek at us getting rid of our waste product!”

Monokuma: “Hey hey I am not lewd by any means, don’t throw such accusations at me! I have to watch everywhere with the big screen to see if the killings happen.”

Kotori: “That’s a poor excuse!”

Monokuma: “Aww, I don’t like being perceived as a pervert… they are all nasty human beings that deserve to suffer like the characters in their fantasy! So I’ll leave a perfume up there to get rid of this dreadful smell of old dusty books, sheesh! Will you forgive me now?...”

Kotori: “I will never forgive you!”

Monokuma: “Awww.”

Kotori: “How did this smell come up here anyway?...”

Monokuma: “It’s because the vent of the second floor is connected to most of the rooms on this floor, which include the library. I know you saw it on the first floor but the library is very big. It’s so close that those old dusty books’ smell came up here! *spray spray* ”

And with that, Monokuma disappeared.

Kotori: “I should go now, Yuma has been waiting for me for a long time…”

As I finally exited the door, no one was found nearby. Did he leave me alone? Again! So I yelled his name lustily.

Kotori: “YUUMA! WHERE ARE YOU!”

Rio: “Kotori?”

Kotori: “Rio! Did you happen to see Yuma pass by?”

Rio: “Yeah, I was just at the curvy hallway coming upstairs when I saw Yuma enter the Game Room with Tetsuo, Casewell and Tokunosuke…”

Kotori: “Thank you!”

And then I sprinted my way through the Game Room and abruptly forced the door open.

Kotori: “Yuma! I told you to wait!”

Yuma: “Sorry! They were going to the Game Room so since you were taking a while…”

Tetsuo: “Hey Kotori! Check what I got from the Casino!”

Kotori: “That’s a key… could it be-”

Tetsuo: “The key to unlocking some of the doors!”

Tokunosuke: “I only got a keychain…”

Casewell: “At least you didn’t get a lame pencil like me!”

Yuma: “And I got a pink watch, I don’t know if I should keep it…”

Kotori: “That’s such a cute watch!”

Yuma: “Kotori, you can have it if you want to. It really suits you!”

Kotori: “Thank you, Yuma…”

And then I wrapped the watch around my wrist, the time was displayed on, expectedly. As soon as it flickered to another minute, Yuma and I got out of the Game Room. After a few minutes, we made our way to the library and reached the shelf with the hidden door. 

Yuma: “So we’re going to make a snare trap with the strings Four has given us, but I am not sure how to make it work...” 

Kotori: “Remember when someone pranked us on our school trip during camping? He showed us the video of where he learned to make it.”

Yuma: “Yeah I remember that prank, the trap even pulled out my pants… they made fun of me for an entire week about the fact I had a bear on my panty...”

As soon as he said that, his face went to annoyed real quick as he looked at his shoulders again...

Kotori: “ *giggle* I was so embarrassed at the time… anyway, my memory of the video is kinda blurred but I think I am starting to remember something…”

Yuma: “Me too, but I didn’t watch the video of that prankster, my father showed me once when I was on a trip with him… it was very poorly done, *giggle* we tried at least ten times, and right when I was about to give up, my father started to yell “I am feeling the flow!”, he tried again, and eventually got it right…”

Without realising, I ended up smiling at his smile, he always has this weird effect on me, and other people…

Yuma: “Anyway, we were in a forest and in the wild, we don’t have sticks, logs and a rope, we don’t even know how strong these strings are…”

Kotori: “It doesn’t necessarily have to be those things. Let’s see… We can use the wooden piles at the ceiling of the bookshelf! And... use the scattered books and a small object around four inch…”

Yuma: “All those stuff? I guess it could work. Also, I forgot how to knot…”

Kotori: “You can’t knot a simple string… No wonder you took so long to learn how to tie up a shoe…”

Yuma: “I couldn’t help it!”

Kotori: “Then ask Astral, I am sure he knows way better than you…”

…

Yuma: “Wait… you know he is…”

Kotori: “Yeah… Before I thought that Astral wasn’t here with us, but you’ve been turning your shoulders very often, so I figured... but I was also confused at the reason why I couldn’t see him and the reason you were silent about him the whole time…”

Yuma: “Sorry… Astral told me that it’s better if he took advantage of his current invisibility by analysing everyone’s moves to determine our enemy… so I couldn’t tell anyone...”

Kotori: “Wait… does Astral suspect me too?”

Yuma: “No no, that’s not what I meant, I just didn’t think it was necessary to reveal it to you now, there is no way I would suspect you!”

Kotori: “What do you mean by “it wasn’t necessary”! Astral can pass through objects, right? He could have saved us from so much trouble!”

Yuma: “About that, he already tried countless times… he can’t. Apparently the walls here are made with high energy materials that made it impossible for Astral to get out…”

Kotori: “Really… but he can help us with the trap right?”

Then Yuma turned his head and simply looked at him, after a few seconds a grin formed in Yuma’s face and gave a thumbs up. I honestly felt bad for not being able to see him.

Kotori: “Alright, so Astral will teach you how to do the knots, I will work on the wooden pile. It’s not spacious enough, and knowing you, you would definitely fall, therefore I’ll work up there. You work around the shelf, and knot the string of the small object, then balance it with the scattered books.”

Yuma: “Why do I have a feeling that I am going to do most of the work?...”

Kotori: “Quit whining and start working!”

Yuma: “R-roger that!”

Kotori: “Also, for the small object, we didn't get it from the warehouse yesterday, I’ll suggest it be a normal transparent light bulb since it will be less visible…”

Yuma: “That’s a great idea! I’ll try to bring some spare in case it breaks…”

Kotori: “Yeah! That would be perfect, just take your time, I’ll try to be done as soon as you come back.”

Yuma: “Alright then!”

Alright… it’s time to get to work! Even if it will be difficult… I have to do it, it's the only way to stop the mastermind and save everyone… 

I inspected the library for a bit and found a ladder conveniently placed at the opposite side of the library. I moved the ladder toward the position of my trap and reached the wooden pile. I got the things I needed out of the bag and attached the strings and knotted. My hands were a bit slippery, it was very nerve-wracking, but it would save my friends, so I hardened my palms, and got to work. Then leaving work half progressed, I came back down as I could hear Yuma's running footsteps.

Kotori: “W-wow, you took a while!”

Yuma: “It wasn’t easy finding them as we thought, even with Astral’s help… it’s a ginormous warehouse!”

Kotori: "You got the bulbs, but what's on your other hand?"

Yuma: "Walkie talkies, since we can't use D-Gazers, we could communicate with these!"

Kotori: “Good thinking Yuma!”

Yuma: “Actually, it was Astral’s idea…”

Kotori: “ *sigh* I should have expected it…”

Yuma: “Hehe”

Soon after Yuma and I got back to work, he cautiously knotted the bulb and put books on top of another, while I was finishing the preparations above the ceiling covered in wooden piles.

Yuma: “We also need to make sure the mastermind doesn’t notice the strings.”

Kotori: “The strings are transparent, I am sure the light won’t refract the strings enough to be noticeable if it lays on the ground… The mastermind has to step on and kick the books and it's done!”

Yuma: “Yeah, also we need to make sure that no matter where they step on, the mastermind falls into the trap, I am going to raise the string and scatter a bit more books here and there to make it look normal.”

Kotori: “Yeah…”

And Yuma closed his eyes and shot a grin. As he traced his step and carelessly leaned on the bookshelf… a huge thundering noise was emanated… and Yuma was upside down...

Yuma: “C-crap!”

Kotori: “Yuma! You just activated our trap! How can you be so reckless!”

Yuma: “I didn’t do it on purpose! I can’t untie the knot, I can’t even see the knot!”

Kotori: “ *sigh* just wait there and stay in place, I’ll do it.”

Yuma: “My D-Gazer is falling out of my pocket a-and my golden key!”

Kotori: “I am trying! The knot is really tight, gosh it would be perfect if it was for the mastermind, but you really had to step on it!”

After I untied the knot, Yuma roughly fell on the ground, causing a huge bump on his head. I can only imagine how Astral is facepalming right now...

Kotori: “Now we need to tie the knot and order the books again! *sigh*”

Yuma: “I-I’ll redo everything don’t worry…”

  
  


…

Yuma: “All done! We just have to wait now. We'll catch the mastermind for sure!”

Kotori: “We will…”

Yuma: “Alright, I put the blue pack in the trash can, now we need to only collect the light bulbs.”

Kotori: “I’ll take care of it, then.”

Soon after I went to collect the packet of light bulbs laying on the ground, but as soon as I picked them it abruptly fell on the floor.

Yuma: “K-Kotori did you get hurt?”

Kotori: “Don’t worry about me, I just accidentally broke a lightbulb...”

Yuma: “We need to clean them up too-”

Kotori: “Don’t worry, I am taking care of everything…”

I need to get a grip now, I can’t mess up today, I can’t let my anxiety get the better of me... Is it the fear of meeting the person who has put us through all this… I kept contemplating with myself. I felt myself quivering in fear.

Yuma: “Kotori, I know you’re afraid, but we’ll pass through this! We will win against the mastermind, in some way or another, I promise!”

Kotori: “...”

I gave Yuma a tearful smile, my heart palpitated in a mix of emotions and felt myself almost drowning. I feared death many times in my life, but today I was frightened by it the most. But yet again, I was comforted by Yuma’s words.

Yuma: “Oh yeah! How do we know if the mastermind got into the trap? If we stay in the library to keep guard, they might notice us!”

Kotori: “Yeah… that’s a problem… the blackout only happens within the library so we won’t know…”

Yuma: “I had an idea just now! When I stepped on the trap, the book made a very loud sound! Right at the top of the library, there is a classroom. When you were in the bathroom, Tetsuo and Casewell were going there because apparently they found a key to open something in that room, and they invited me so I went with them. We could even hear the ceiling crackings from there… If the mastermind steps on the trap, we’ll hear a loud sound coming from the ceiling!”

Kotori: “That’s a great idea!”

Yuma: “Alright, so we just have to wait in that room then…”

Kotori: “Also someone has to check the Library door to see if someone enters the library, we can’t let anyone in there, they might fall into the trap… So I’ll be in the classroom and let you know about the sound.”

Yuma: “Are you sure you want to be on your own? It’s pretty dangerous…”

Kotori: “It’s fine, only a few hours are left before it hits night time, every classroom has an automatic door, I can just switch that off once I am inside the classroom. And I still have the walkie talkie in me, make sure to be in contact with me and tell me everything that is going on.”

Yuma: “Alright… Also, you don’t have to worry about someone entering the library, I put a sign outside the door saying “The library has recurring blackouts, so until that is fixed, no one should enter”. It’s pretty believable, right?”

Kotori: “But are they going to listen?…”

Yuma: “Well… I signed the sign as the Monokubs… hopefully, they’ll believe it…”

Kotori: “Alright, I feel everything is ready now!”

Yuma: “Astral just told me a great plan! I’ll be in the Game Room and gather as much as people saying it gives out keys to some of the rooms, that way I can watch for the others until you tell me with the walkie talkie if the mastermind got trapped.”

Kotori: “Great idea Astral! I feel sorry to keep our friends in the dark, but we don’t have a choice...”

Yuma: “Same… I can’t believe one of them is working with the mastermind for something like this… I wish I could have doubted that fact but Droite seemed pretty sure, and I promised I won’t get my feelings in the way of saving my friends.”

Kotori: “I still can’t think of anyone that could betray us like that after all we went through together… maybe they were pressured by the mastermind, that has to be it.”

Yuma: “With this trap we can end this killing game, and so no one has to be pressured to betray us anymore.”

Kotori: “That’s right!”

And with that, we parted our ways. I made my way to the second floor classroom. As I entered the door I pushed the button that kept that automatic door shut, and sat there, waiting… It wasn’t long before Yuma and I passed on information about our discoveries, Yuma kept on telling everyone who was in the Game Room and what they were doing, it was as if we were on a secret mission, well, we are in a sort of a way... But it ended after an hour. Only one hour was left before nighttime, and the time limit came closer and closer. I took a deep breath and went around the corner of the classroom where the sound is supposed to have hit. I felt nervous as the seconds passed by, all my anxiety was devouring my chest. Suddenly, I found myself itching all over my arms… I couldn’t stop it... Then I realised, the wooden piles and books were all dusty, and I didn’t find myself having time to wash my hands! I quickly went out of the classroom and ran towards the bathroom, which should be at the next hallway, it only took me a few seconds to reach the bathroom. As soon as I dropped my bag pack at the corner of the bathroom, the door opened with two more people arriving… It was Rio and Droite! 

Kotori: “H-hi Rio! Hi Droite!”

And then I quickly finished drying my hands, I needed to be back ASAP! As soon I picked up my backpack, my hair clip fell off and slid towards the vent!

Rio: “My my, I didn’t expect the three of us meeting here!”

Droite: “I mean we are in a girls bathroom after all, this is the perfect place…”

Rio: “You’re right-”

Kotori: “Ehhh!”

Droite: “Kotori, is there a problem? You seem in distress.”

Kotori: “I realised my hair clip fell inside the vent when I tried to pick up my bag!”

Rio: “Inside the vent is pretty dark, it will be difficult to get it back…”

Droite: “Unless you have a light source.”

Despite the vent being dark, I positioned myself and entered the vent. I hope the camera doesn’t capture any of this…

Kotori: “Don’t worry, I’ll just use the light of my D-Gazer!”

Rio: “Okay then, good luck!”

I struggled to squat inside the vent but I did as long it took, it couldn’t have been that far… I would retrieve it no matter what. As soon as I completed my mission, I heard a huge thundering from the vent… could it be… I heard my heart palpitate faster and faster, and my body trembling at the rush of my adrenaline. I squatted myself back into the bathroom as soon as I could. 

Kotori: “Y-you are still here…”

Droite: “We were worried… you were there for a long time now.”

Kotori: “It was really dark and the vent was connected to others so it took me a long time to find my way out. I must have pushed the hair clip while squatting since it went that far…”

Rio: “Alright then.”

I finally got myself out and got my walkie talkie.

Kotori: “Yuma! I heard it! I heard the sound!”

Yuma: “Kotori! Cathy’s eyes are hurt, you need to come back now! The library is dark!”

Droite: “What’s this all about?!”

Rio: “What’s going on here? Cathy is hurt?!”

Kotori: “The mastermind is in the library now! We must go now!”

I never ran this fast in my life, my anxiety level rose to a peak that I never have experienced. Droite and Rio followed me towards the library. As soon as I reached that same hallway as everybody gathered, I approached Cathy.

Cathy: “It hurts... it hurts!”

Kotori: “Cathy what happened?!”

Cathy: “T-t-the library door was open and then suddenly a blinding laser light was shot in my eyes!”

Tokunosuke: “The lights are back on again!”

As soon he said that we dashed inside the library... and stood frozen at the sight that awaited us…

A twisted, crumbled string that descended from the fan, that carried a hanging figure, firmly, floating in the mid-air, was Michael’s dead body…

…

…

Ding Dong, Bing Bong

Monokuma: “A body has been discovered! Everyone, please gather in the library!”

…

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for your loss, time to do some justice and find the killer! Who do you think is the blackened of this case?


	4. Chapter 1 - Part 3: Rules of the Labyrinth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's do some justice!  
> Unfortunately, another student will leave ;-; prepare some pop corns and tissues!
> 
> It has Danganronpa's minigames (not all but ones that I thought to be possible)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took me so much time to do lol  
> This is my first time writing an investigation and a trial, hopefully suited to a Danganronpa world. And I hope from the bottom of my heart you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> It might have many grammatical errors, I am truly sorry for that, but I am exhausted and want to be done with this chapter as soon as possible.
> 
> Fair warning: It will be a long read
> 
> Please share your opinions and feedback if you can

**Chapter 1 - Part 3: Rules of the Labyrinth**

…

…

Kotori: “AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”

Yuma: “Oh no… THREEE! Don’t worry! We’re g-getting you down now! Resist!”

Kotori: “I-I-It can’t be…! M-Mich-el is really...! NOOOOOOOOO!”

Tokunosuke: “What the hell is going on…- AAAHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Casewell: “Geez guys why are you screaming like that- AAAAHHHHH!”

Tetsuo: “The lights are back on again, what the hell are you guys screaming about… we have more important stuff to think about, like what the hell was the announcement- AAHHHHHHH-A HANGED BODY!”

Rio: “Everyone, are you okay- AAHHH! That’s Micheal!”

Droite: “Ah…! No way...”

Cathy: “Ah-AH-AHAHHH!”

Anna: “OH NO MICHAEL!”

Yuma: “H-Help! Someone help him!”

Droite: “There is nothing we can do now... We were too late...”

Yuma: “T-Three is suffering! W-we need to help him!!”

Rio: “I know how you’re feeling Yuma, but there is nothing we can do to bring him back... It’s best if we wait for everyone...”

Tetsuo: “Sorry Yuma… Rio is right, it’s best if we just wait for now…”

As Yuma was bashing his hands on the ground, grieving and cursing under his breath, my mind was followed by a sudden dizziness from the shock and confusion. Tears were building at each corner of my eyes, while my heart palpitated each second without stopping, and my whole existence trembled in the motion...

Nothing made sense… as if the word “sense” was disoriented, as if “sense” completely departed from our reality… What was I waiting to accomplish? What was I looking for? And most importantly... Why Michael?... It’s at the tip of tongue, but at the same time, it completely slipped my mind, without my knowledge…

And without wasting any seconds, more people rushed into the library.

Vector: “What the hell… So that’s what it’s all about, it really did happen after all…”

Durbe: “Our efforts of stopping this killing game were effortless in the end…”

Mizael: “How could we have let Monokuma have his way...!”

Kaito: “Ah! No way...”

Haruto: “AAHHH-!”

Kaito: “Haruto! You don’t have to look at this!”

Haruto: “Big brother… is Michael really…”

Kaito: “...*nod*...”

Haruto: “No…”

Kaito: “Everyone, listen! They are coming here soon… We better put ourselves together before the situation deteriorates further.”

Droite: “You mean…”

Kaito: “Yes…”

Droite: “I can’t imagine how unbearable it will be for them to witness all of this… but I think you should at least be able to talk some sense to Chris, just to make sure he doesn’t do anything reckless, and convince his family to not act in an impulse…”

Kaito: “I guess I have no choice… I’ll bring them the announcement then, before they find it on their own…”

And then with a nod, Kaito swiftly took his leave from the library.

Haruto: “Droite… Is it true? What… Monokuma said…”

Droite: “Haruto…”

Haruto: “E-Everything Monokuma said about the killer… a-and trial-”

Droite: “We’ll do our best to face the truth! We just... have to... so we cannot operate out of fear, got it? Everything is going to be alright...”

Haruto: *nod*

Alito: “W-what the hell?!”

Gilag: “Why the hell did he commit sucide?! We were about to battle against Monokuma!”

Droite: “...What suicide?...”

Alito: “Huh?”

Droite: “Look carefully, the way the twisted strings are hanging from the fan and the state his body is in, this doesn’t come off nearly as a suicide case, this is a fully planned crime scene carefully undertaken by the culprit.”

Everyone’s eyes were shot narrow at the utter of that word… “the culprit”, my heart dropped. I could not forget about the killer, it’s among us after all... I could never forget about that, I will never forgive that person! 

And just a second later, the sound of several footsteps were heard right from the corner of the door. And everyone instinctively lined up for them to move, and Kaito trailed behind. Their eyes were immediately shifted towards the body… the eyes, narrow and firm, filled with horror, grieve, inevitable anger and despair…

Four slowly advanced forward… and when he almost reached Michel’s dangling feet, he fell to his knees, and tears were pouring down his cheeks.

Kotori: “C-can we free Michael now? It’s so sad to look at...”

Ryouga: “I think we’ve seen enough as well…”

Durbe: “Be careful, try not to destroy any important evidence…”

And then Shark, Gilag and Anna volunteered for the job. Gilag let Anna to stand on his shoulder, so she could reach Michael’s neck. Just as advised, she carefully loosened the twisted string, and freed Michael from it, who fell downwards, but was immediately captured by Shark together with Four, who landed a hand. I can’t imagine how much it hurts to see his brother like that...

Four’s fists clenched as he held his brother, who now was laid in his arms… he slowly laid him down on the floor. Tron approached from the distance, and sat next to his son, clutching tightly to his son's hand...

After a few minutes… he let it go, and rested his hand on top of his stomach… Meanwhile Chris stood near, twitching his eyes, visibly pained at the sight. It might be just me, but after he was freed from those strings, and was surrounded by his family, an expression of peace and relief was emanated, compared to his previous state… as if he’s finally in peace with himself and no longer in pain…

...

And then from nowhere…

Monokuma: “What. A. Relief! Finally a murder took place before the time limit reached the end!”

Kotori: “What?! How are you still-!”

Monokuma: “Geez you guys wanted to stay stubborn until the very end! Luckily, not all of you... Ah-hahahaha!”

And after that, the expression of the Arclight family changed into a blood wrenching anger.

Vector: “So you’re saying one of us killed Michael, started this killing game, and therefore no one will be punished.”

Monokuma: “Yep! You should thank that person for saving your necks! But before that, you should find out who they are, right? That’s why you guys will have to go through a heart pounding investigation! But thaaat’s just another friendly advice, but use your time however you like! Theeen after a certain amount of time the class trial will begin!”

Yuma: “Cut the crap! You and the mastermind plotted all this to make us believe one of us killed him! When it was you!”

Monokuma: “You’re saying I violated the rules?!”

Durbe: “From the Regulation section, Rule 9 from the e-Handbook states that Monokuma will never commit murder directly…”

Anna: “But this is their own game, it’s not like the mastermind has to force these rules upon themselves to get what they want. Heck, I am sure they already took liberties with their own rules!”

Monokuma: “Listen here! I hate when people think they are entitled to throw their own accusations without anything backing them up! So if you can't keep up with any claims, then keep your mouth shut! And after using some brain cells, maybe then you can find the true killer!”

Droite: “Well, I do.”

Monokuma: “N-Nyeh! *sweats*”

Droite: “It doesn’t show an active act of murder, however it shows you and your mastermind’s involvement of luring Micheal to his death, prepared by the real culprit.”

Haruto: “Wait, does the rules say anything about the mastermind helping someone to succeed to kill?”

Monokuma: “S-Sheesh! Gimme a break! The mastermind and I cannot have any active part for someone’s murder plan! I am only the motivator! And whatever you noticed was just a small pack on the shoulder, a small gift, because it is my job, my duty as the m-motivator! I wasn’t involved at all in their method or in the actual killing… so I didn’t violate any rules!”

Kaito: “Suuure… we’ll clear this up during the trial anyway.”

Thomas: “Is the culprit… really… one of us?”

Monokuma: “Absolutely positive, I can see them clear as day!”

Gilag: “You can "see them”? well it would’ve been too easy if you could tell us who it was…”

Thomas: “Then I will, I definitely will find out!”

Kotori: “H-Huh?”

Thomas: “I will avenge my brother! They didn’t just take away his life for their own benefit, but they had the audacity to disrespect his body, and in doing so they disrespected his name, his honour and the Arclight family! The culprit messed with the wrong person!! And I will find them and avenge my brother!”

Chris: “I will not tolerate any suspicions from anyone here, I will too do everything it requires to find the killer of my brother, and give them the true taste of the power of the Arclight family!”

Tron: “You’ve made a big mistake targeting my son... And I will repay it back, rest in sure blackened.”

Yuma: “I know how angry you are... I really do! But suspecting everyone is not the right way to solve this and find the true killer! That’s just what Monokuma want-”

Thomas: “You’re just putting words in your mouth, it won’t work on us anymore! And just so you know I have my eyes on you! “Use the string to capture Monokuma” huh!?”

Yuma: “It’s not how it looks-!”

Thomas: “Forget this sh*t! Come with a better excuse in the trial!”

Chris: “Yuma, it’s not hard to understand a person’s grief. Your words must have worked before, and your logic and thinking was right at that time, but this is an entirely different situation we’re in. And my brother told me everything about your encounter with him in the **Warehouse** , and told me about giving you the **Blue pack of strings** for a good cause, the same strings hanging around Michael’s hanged body... and now, try to understand from our perspective. What would you think if you were on our shoes? I have nothing else to say.”

* * *

“ **Four’s account** ” has been added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

After stating that, he left from our sight, they probably made enough investigation on the library to draw a conclusion, and went to investigate the other rooms…

Tokunosuke: “W-What was all that?”

Kotori: “Let’s not talk about this right now, we’ll explain it to you later…”

Yuma: “But I don’t understand… The mastermind should have been captured in the library… and the killing game shouldn’t have continued, yet, Michael died instead!”

Kotori: “What if… we fell in the mastermind’s trap instead…”

Yuma: “Huh…”

Kotori: “I thought for a while that the mastermind was watching us all along…I noticed a very small security camera on the Girl’s Bathroom… It’s probable that it wasn’t just in the bathroom… but in every single room of this school…”

Yuma: “That’s important! You should have said that before we made the trap!”

Kotori: “I am sorry Yuma…”

Yuma: “Anyway, that was the only way we had to take on the mastermind…! Still we didn't manage to save Michael… The only way we can defeat them is going through the trial, so let's start the investigation-!”

Tetsuo: “I am at a complete loss, what are you even talking about?! "Take on the mastermind"?”

Ryouga: “Now I am curious of what you two have been up to as well.”

Kotori: “Alright…”

Then Yuma and I explained to everyone… We told them about the discovery we made encountering Droite in the library… the possibility of the mastermind frequently contacting the traitor among us, and the trap we set in the library to expose the mastermind only, and that someone got trapped in the trap we set since we heard the signal, so we came to the library to check, and discovered Michael’s body…

Tetsuo: “Wait! Why have you kept us in the dark? Even you Kotori!”

Cathy: “We are your friends, but you still decided to work on your own...”

Casewell: “In the end, can you really call us your friends when you're suspicious of us?”

Tokunosuke: “Yuma kept us in the dark many times before, but this time it cut deep… we could have actually been great help to you, or are you doubting our skills as well?!”

Yuma: “G-Guys! Seriously… it isn’t like that!”

Kotori: “We didn’t want everyone to panic and fight with each other-”

Casewell: “That’s just a bunch of excuses!”

Ryouga: “Then what you losers would have done if you were in their place?”

Tetsuo: “Huh?!”

Ryouga: “I’ve just seen running your mouths for a while now and talking sh*t to Yuma and Kotori, but what would you have done if you did the same thing as them?”

Tetsuo: “Well I would have told them about it-”

Kaito: “Even if you know that one of them might be working with the mastermind? And also you risk your friends to fight and accuse each other?”

Tetsuo: “I- Hmph... You got a point…”

Kotori: “We still felt really bad about it… I am telling you guys the truth!”

Yuma: “So… Can you forgive us?...”

Tetsuo: “I was mad at you two… but not _that_ mad. I-I don’t care...”

Cathy: “I could never stay mad at Yuma!”

She didn’t say anything about me…

Casewell: “I forgive you, I understand why you would hide it from us…I guess.”

Tokunosuke: “Yeah me too...”

Rio: “You made up with each other quickly… that’s great because we should start investigating now.”

Monokuma: “H-Hold on!”

Yuma: “You again?!”

Monokuma: “Don’t rush! I have something very important to give you! The Monokuma Fiiiile! It has a detailed summary of all the info about the dead body! What would you do without the little old me?” 

And then without further notice, he disappeared.

Mizael: “Should we even trust this file in the first place?”

Kaito: “We have no other choice other than to rely on this…”

Casewell: “I mean… the content of the file looks legitimate…”

Tokunosuke: “That’s why you’ll remain gullible for the rest of your life, there is always a flip side! Monokuma might have given us wrong information so we vote for the wrong person so that everyone receives punishment, just the outcome someone like Monokuma would want!”

Kotori: “Let’s have a read to make sure…”

**Monokuma File 1**

Michael Arclight: Dead

The victim was Michael Arclight, the Ultimate Archeologist.

**Cause of Death**

The victim’s body was discovered at the first floor of the library

The estimated time of death is 21:00 

The victim’s cause of death was crushed windpipe as result of choking

The victim has a deep cut around 2.5 cm in length in the leg

The victim has a swollen bump on their head and minor bleeding

No other injuries were found

* * *

“ **Monokuma File 1** ” has been added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Droite: “Just as I thought… it aligns.”

Kotori: “What aligns?”

Droite: “...”

She didn’t respond to me...

Kotori: “Droite, do you also believe that Yuma and I are responsible for Michael’s death?”

Droite: “I had an ominous feeling from the start, that’s why I told you not to get involved, but you didn’t listen.”

Yuma: “I am sorry Droite, I thought we could save everyone, but I failed…”

Kotori: “Yuma…”

Droite: “I don’t want to pick sides before analysing every single possibility, however so far, both you and Yuma definitely played a major role in his death, the truth will draw closer in the trial anyway, so just be prepared for your defense.”

Kotori: “I understand…”

Yuma: “So let’s begin the investigation, we’ll definitely find the killer if we work together!”

Ryouga: “We should definitely work together, we can’t investigate by ourselves…”

Tetsuo: “And why not?”

Kaito: “Because if we let the culprit work by themselves, they might try to destroy evidence.”

Rio: “So if each of us watches the other, no one will be able to tamper with the evidence.”

Anna: “That’s a genius move! Since the culprit is one of us.”

Tetsuo: “That’s a wonderful idea! Just as expected from Rio! *blush*”

Rio wasn’t even the one who suggested it… anyway. As we finished conversing, Astral, Yuma and I decided to start investigating while everyone split into groups of two and three.

* * *

**Investigation time**

* * *

As we started the investigation, we followed the group near Michael’s body.

Yuma: “Rio, Droite, what are you doing?”

Rio: “What do you think we are doing?

Then Yuma looked at his shoulders again and then pulled out an apologetic smile… geez, even Astral needs to explain that…

Yuma: “I-I only asked because the Monokuma File seems to tell everything about the autopsy…”

Rio: “Autopsy is not everything, we need to find signs of struggles.”

Kotori: “Are we checking his belongings as well?”

Rio: “I don’t think we need to go that far… Four and Ryouga already examined his belongings in front of us already… Four didn’t want someone else to be in contact with his brother's body, and I think we should respect his decision…”

Droite: “Look, he has a red line in his hands… it’s as if he held a sharp object tightly…”

Kotori: “A sharp object?...”

Droite: “It’s just a deduction, but I think it’s most probable. This is definitely a sign of struggle.”

* * *

“ **Sign of holding a sharp object** ” added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Droite: “There is something else that I noticed and found it strange…”

Rio: “What is strange exactly?”

Droite: “We saw the twisted strings that were hanging from the fan in the rear of the library door. However, look, there is another one above the moving bookcase.”

Rio: “I see it now! We were so focused on Michael that we didn’t even notice this…! It’s also transparent! It looks like a normal **snare trap** like Yuma and Kotori described.”

Yuma: “That was the snare trap we created for the mastermind, but it seems like it didn’t work…”

Droite: “I am not sure, it might have not been the mastermind, but it looks like someone got trapped here… The circular knot that holds your feet tight, is ripped.”

* * *

“ **Ripped knot** ” are added to the Truth bullets

* * *

Kotori: “W-what’s on here?...”

Yuma: “Huge shards of glass pieces of the light bulb, wait didn’t you clear them up?”

Kotori: “I-I sure did... Why are they still here? I wonder...”

* * *

“ **Shards of glass** ” are added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Kotori: "Those lightbulbs took you a while to get, huh…"

Yuma: "I couldn't find them easily… I hope they don't suspect me for it…."

Kotori: "Me too… I am worried…"

* * *

**"Yuma went to the warehouse again"** has been added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Tetsuo: “Wait how many light bulbs have you brought?”

Yuma: “They were in packs of three... we used one for the trap, and there was one where Kotori accidentally broke it… so there should be only one remaining…”

Casewell: “So where is the other one?”

Kotori: “I-I just put it in the trash can…”

Casewell: “Oh. Wait, WHAAAT?! You just disposed of such important evidence in the trash can?!”

Cathy: “It’s not like Kotori could have known… there is no way she knew something tragic as this was going to happen and that would become important evidence…”

Tokunosuke: “We just gotta dig through the trash right?”

Kotori: “Yeah…”

Then we dug through the nearby trash, where I supposedly binned the shards of glasses and lightbulb.

Yuma: “Ah!”

Cathy: “Here are lots of **shards of glass** and a **light bulb with a huge crack**!”

Yuma: “And the whole **blue pack** is what I threw away.”

* * *

“ **Library’s trash can** ” is added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Yuma: “Kotori! Astral found something underneath our trap.”

Kotori: “Keep it down, otherwise everyone is going to know about Astral, I am coming.”

…

Kotori: “This is a pink cloth… is this a kitchen cloth? How did it come here?”

Yuma: “I don’t think it’s a kitchen cloth… Three always had it on his neck… but when I saw the body, he didn’t have it…”

Kotori: “Wait! This is Michael’s?”

* * *

“ **Jabot** ” has been added to the Truth bulles section.

* * *

Yuma: “Astral quite down, will ya?! I know that they can’t hear you but they can still hear me!”

Kotori: “Did you say something?”

Yuma: “Nothing, he’s just being his usual...”

Kotori: “C’mon Yuma, I think we should hear him out…”

Yuma: “Wait, you’re right!”

Kotori: “Yuma?”

Yuma: “Astral noticed that the scattered books I ordered are all messy.”

Kotori: “For the books to be this messy, someone had to stamp over the books while trying to open the hidden door, therefore activating the trap. Is it possible that Michael was the one captured by the trap? And at that moment the culprit took the chance of murdering him?...”

Yuma: “I would have never imagined things to turn out this way…”

Droite: “That’s weird…”

Yuma: “What is?”

Droite: “The other day when you met up with Chris and Michael, I overheard him talking about his favourite topics, right?”

Yuma: “Yeah…”

Droite: “And Michael was pointing towards the bookshelf containing his favourite topics as well. You were chatting with him at the opposite side of the library, while I was checking the secret moving bookcase. Each bookshelf and rows has a unique topic, which is specified in name templates too, so why is Micheal’s favourite topic’s name template on the moving bookcase now?

Rio: “Michael is interested in Archaeological topics right? I actually checked the contents of the moving bookcase, it doesn’t have anything related to archeology, it seems only the name template has been moved. But I don’t understand, this is completely attached to the shelf, how was it switched…? And what is this… hair?”

Kotori: “W-wait, the reason Michael was captured by our trap…!

Rio: “Most likely because he wanted to check the books related to archaeology… he probably noticed the name templates changed. And when he went to check the books, he stamped over the ordered books and fell on the moving bookcase, and by touching it, he triggered the bookcase to move, which subsequently activated your snare trap.”

Kotori: “N-No way-!”

Yuma: “Not only we didn’t capture the mastermind, we led Michael to encounter straight with the culprit…!”

Rio: “And I am sure at least one of us was desperate enough to give in to Monokuma. If they found someone in a vulnerable state such as Michael, it would have been very convenient for the culprit to take on the opportunity.”

Kotori: “I don’t understand… how did the culprit get the same plastic strings as ours, reached such a high fan and tied it in such a short amount of time…”

Rio: “Maybe it was done a few hours before they decided to strangle Michael with it.”

Droite: “But still, that hanging string was near the rear door, so Michael would have definitely seen it by walking past the dangling string.”

* * *

“ **Dangling twisted plastic string** ” has been added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Ryouga: “Also why is the string twisted like that?...”

Kaito: “I think the answer lies above the fan.”

Cathy: “Then leave it to me. I’ll take a second! Also, would someone like to come with me? Since we can’t investigate by ourselves…”

Droite: “I’ll do it then.”

…

Cathy: “Ah!”

Droite: “I see… everything is coming together now…”

Kotori: “So what have you found out?”

Cathy: “The plastic string is tightly looped around each wing of the fan… And it’s held by a single knot...”

Kaito: “It’s held just by a simple knot? That’s impossible, Michael’s heavy body definitely would have ripped it, or alternatively the speed of the fan would have made sure the loop on the wing would fall.”

Droite: “The culprit considered those facts, that’s why they took the advantage of the fan’s design.”

Kaito: “What do you mean?”

Droite: “I am sure you look it up from here, there is a slight and small curve at the edge of the wing, which surrounds up the corners of the plastic string, which helps to resist at the high speed.”

Kaito: “…! I can see it!”

* * *

“ **Fan’s design** ” has been added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Cathy: “And the knot seems pretty sturdy too, and it’s because at both ends of the string… have a handle!”

Rio: “A handle?...”

Droite: “It almost looks like a jump rope… after knotting the strings, they stuck the two handle together at the center of the fan.”

Kaito: “It makes sense now…”

Kotori: “Yuma, I just remembered something. I still didn’t understand what happened to Cathy when there was the blackout in the library… I didn’t get to properly ask her.”

Yuma: “Then we should do it now.”

After a few minutes, we approached Cathy, who was investigating the Game Room together with Tetsuo, Casewell and Tokunosuke. 

Kotori: “Hey there Cathy, I am sorry I couldn’t properly ask it before, are your eyes okay now?”

Cathy: “Yes, I am completely fine now, thank you for asking Kotori...”

Yuma: “Tell us what really happened…”

Cathy: “I was just walking towards the Game Room with everyone, and to do that, I had to pass by the library first… The door was open and inside the room it was pitch black, I don’t think to have seen any kind of hanging figure, even though my eyes are really sharp in the dark… but then just a few seconds later… a blinding light was shone in my eyes! You know how you feel when you have lasers shot in your eyes? That’s how I felt…!”

Yuma: “A blinding light?...”

Kotori: “Could it be… that you have nocturnal and sensitive visions like cats…?”

Cathy: “Ngh how did you know?!”

Yuma: “Wait, you can cat vision?!”

Cathy: “In reality my vision is the worst. One day I decided to create my own type of eye contacts because I was curious to envision how cats lived at night, and I am not that fond of my glasses… But it became really handy at night!”

Kotori: “But Heartland City is full of lightings and lasers…! Your eyes must be super sensitive…”

Cathy: “I wore eye contacts only when I was in need, otherwise I would just wear my glasses. I wore my eye contacts today because I couldn’t find my glasses anymore, I think I lost them!”

Kotori: “Was there anyone else entering the door while you were in pain?”

Cathy: “My eyes were really hurting and I couldn’t think of anything else, so I couldn’t see if anyone entered…”

* * *

“ **Cathy’s account** ” has been added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Kotori: “This means before the blinding light hit Cathy, Michael and the culprit was already in the library…”

Yuma: “Since there was a blackout, it means it's been a minute since Michael has opened the door… but I don’t understand… I put a sign there and tightly locked the door, but Michael entered anyway…”

Vector: “You mean _this_ sign.”

Yuma: “Huh?”

Vector: “It was glued to the door really well since they couldn’t rip off the paper completely… small bits of paper are attached to the door. Probably that person didn’t have time scratching it off because they were in a hurry.”

Yuma: “V-Vector! D-Don’t just rip the paper off!”

Vector: “I think it will be important evidence, maybe not pointing at the culprit, but important regardless.”

And with that, he vanished at the end of the curvy hallway…

Kotori: “W-Who took the sign off! If the sign was there, Michael wouldn’t have died! Poor Michael!”

Yuma: “Nothing worked out in the end…”

Why…? Why it had to be this way...

Kotori: “I feel like we’ve investigated enough in the library…”

Yuma: “Then how about we question others for, umm… what was the word again?”

Astral: “Do you mean “alibis” Yuma?”

Yuma: “Yes! Alibis! ”

W-wait… I am sure I could hear Astral a second ago! W-was it just my imagination of him responding that way? 

Kotori: “You’re such a clutz Yuma… Even Astral who is not even from our world has way better vocabulary than you.”

Yuma: “Well it’s not my fault that I am not an obsessed fanatic with Detective tv shows as much as you two!”

Tetsuo: “How disappointing Yuma… taking so long to remember such a simple word. And here I thought you were the leader of our Super Secret Number Card Investigation club...”

Yuma: “Give me a break guys *sigh*”

Mizael: “Yeah we have far more important matters to discuss. As I have collected as much alibis as I could before the murder occured.”

Kotori: “Was there anyone particularly suspicious or without alibis?”

Casewell: “I remember that in the Dining hall Vector clearly stated that he wanted to be left alone. To summarise, if he was alone, it definitely makes him the most suspicious!”

Mizael: “You don’t have to worry about Vector, I made sure to keep an eye for him.”

Cathy: “Are you sure that you didn’t Vector out of sight for once?”

Mizael: "Vector did exit the Game Room, however, Durbe and Shark made sure to catch up with him.”

Kaito: “So who else was in the Game Room?”

Mizael: “There were almost everyone except the Arclight family, you, your brother, Kotori, Rio and Droite.”

Durbe: “So did anyone actually get out from the Game Room at the time of the murder?”

Mizael: “Yes, the only people were Cathy and Tokunosuke.”

Cathy: “I-I just won a key and tried to use it!”

Tokunosuke: “Same for me! I got out a few minutes after Cathy, and soon as I reached in front of the library door I saw her crying her eyes out and called for help!”

Durbe: “Wait, so the people that weren’t in the Game Room, where were they?”

Kaito: “I was in my Ultimate Research Lab with Haruto, Chris, Tron and Droite. However, around a few minutes before the estimated murder time, Four and Three came by my Research Lab, that’s the last time I saw Michael.”

Yuma: “Wait! You saw Michael a few minutes before his murder?!”

Kaito: “Yes, and then Tron was talking to Michael, and straight after only he exited from my Research Lab.”

Yuma: “So only Michael left… and there was no one to help him when he triggered our trap…!”

Kaito: “But someone else also left my Research Lab, a minute later, Droite said she had to go to the restroom…”

Kotori: “Yeah, I saw her, Rio and I can attest to that.”

Kaito: “I see.”

* * *

“ **Kaito’s account** ” has been added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Kotori: “Where else can we investigate?...”

Yuma: “That’s a good question…”

Droite: “It should be the warehouse.”

Yuma: “Huh?!”

Kaito: “You said that Four gave you a pack of strings to help with your snare trap.”

Ryouga: “But how was the same pack of strings hanging around Michael’s neck?”

Rio: “We can assume that the culprit wanted to pin the murder on you guys by using similar tools, however, we need evidence to back it up, otherwise you guys would be the most suspicious.”

Yuma: “Yeah, let’s go to the warehouse then.”

Kotori: *nod*

…

Kaito: “Just as I thought…”

Kotori: “What happened?”

Droite: “Look, there are empty spaces.”

Yuma: “B-but Four gave me only one!”

Kaito: “And the culprit took the other one.”

* * *

“ **Two empty spaces on the row** ” has been added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Ryouga: “That makes me wonder, Rio, where were you during that time?”

Rio: “I was just in the Girl’s bathroom.”

Droite: “Me and Kotori can attest to that.”

Yuma: “Wait, Kotori was with you? I thought you were in class waiting for the signal of the trap, how did you hear it?”

Kotori: “Well… my hands felt itchy because of all the dust from the wooden pile, so I went to wash my hands quickly. Later in the bathroom my hair clip kinda fell off inside the vent, since the vent is connected to the library, I was lucky to hear the sound.”

Rio: “That explains your sudden call to Yuma.”

Kaito: “I was wondering about that vent, so if Kotori was there when Michael triggered the snare trap, the culprit couldn’t have used that vent to enter the library.”

Ryouga: “Yeah, that seems so.”

* * *

“ **Rio’s account** ” has been added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

“ **Vent** ” has been added to the Truth bullets section.

* * *

Ding dong bing bong

Monokuma: “Alright! It’s time for what you’ve all been waiting for! A heart pounding class trial! Please assemble in front of the statue of **Divine Judgment** on the fountain in the courtyard. Don’t keep me waitiiiing, see you all there!”

And without another word, everyone just followed the instructions and walked towards the courtyard, reached the fountain with the statue, and met up with everyone.

The Arclight family… they stood so distantly from the others, and lined close to each other, without any expression on their face.

Tetsuo: “So where is the class trial? Is it going to be here?”

Durbe: “I kind of envisioned the class trial to be more… refined.”

And then a second later, the statue of Monokuma with the name of “Divine Judgment” shoved the concrete gavel, and disappeared beneath the water. And then… there the water in the fountain disappeared with the statue! Soon a metallic door revealed itself.

Haruto: “That looks like an old elevator...”

Droite: “This elevator is not old, the one at Heartland Tower is the one advanced. They are still used within the court. It seems not everything is up to the same technicality level of Dr Faker’s tower...” 

Kaito: “You could say that…”

Gilag: “On earth, one place is so different from the other, we didn’t have that problem in the Barian World.”

Alito: “I will never understand this ‘inequality’ thing on earth, just stop being selfish and use that damn money to good use and problem solved.”

Ryouga: “Tch. *laughs*”

Right then a road to the elevator ascended from the beneath. And the Arclight family soon took their march without hesitation.

Kotori: “I guess it’s inviting us in… we can’t run away…”

Tokunosuke: “I-I-I don’t wanna get in, it gives me willies!”

Casewell: “But we have no other choice… and we need to do it for Michael, he became our friend too you know.”

Cathy: "I guess we have to give our best, everyone's life is at stake…"

And soon, everyone reached the elevator, which slowly started to descend down.

…

…

* * *

Vector: “It’s going pretty far down…”

Durbe: “I don’t think I've ever seen such an elaborate setup…”

Kotori: “Yuma...”

As I stood in the elevator, my body suddenly felt frozen and my composure started to fall apart. Instinctively, I reached for Yuma’s hands...

Yuma: “K-Kotori...”

He felt my quivering hands, he tightened his palms to calm me down. I tried to take a deep breath, but my anxiety remained...

Kotori: “I am scared… to learn the truth, to face the person that caused so much pain for everyone… the person that we called a friend...”

Yuma: “Everyone is scared to face the cold truth, you’re not alone in this. But I know that I can’t look all moppy in front of everyone when everyone is trying to do their best to go against Monokuma, and giving their all for Michael.”

Kotori: “Y-You’re right, we’ll find the mastermind and Michael’s killer! And no matter how cold the truth can be, we must face it at all costs, for the sake of everyone. And if you are stuck, borrow the strength from everyone, and together, reach the truth.”

Yuma: *nod*

* * *

After a minute, we finally reached towards our destination and exited the elevator.

In front of us, there were 22 podiums allocated each with our name, and from nowhere Monokuma and his Monokubs appeared. He cosily sat on his chair, while his cubs stood on their cushions.

Monotaro: “Yay! Finally the most awaited class trial! Our hard work finally paid off!”

Monodam: “HARD-WORK-ALWAYS-PAYS-OFF! ESPECIALLY-AFTER-WORKING-TOGETHER!”

Monosuke: “Even if we are still mere apprentices, our harbouring strength will put ourselves into pop’s shoes in no time.”

Monophanie: “T-That is too much responsibility… I wish I was as admirable as daddy, but I cannot hold g-gory stuff and v-violence, huh... I feel like I am gonna puke… Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

Monokid: “Hell yeah! I should be the one controlling these punkasses and send these tributes to the arena to fight in a life-death game where they’ll go in a killing-spree and make the killings faster!!!”

Monokuma: “N-N-Nyeh! My own little cubs are already p-plotting against their own father for their promotion! Arghhh this gives me so much despairrr, but it feels so good at the same time…!”

Mizael: “I think you picked the worst time for your comedic charades.”

Thomas: “Stop wasting my time! Start this damn trial already!!”

Monokuma: “Alright, alright! Sheesh I never ever saw someone to want a class trial this bad! You Arclights must feel pretty confident about who is the blackened, puhuhuhu! Please stand the podiums with your name on it, and let the class trial finally commence!”

???: "Where am I… pon... AAHHHHH! Why am I tied up and suspended in the air-pon?!"

Kotori: "P-Ponta!"

Gilag: "Ponta! What are you doing here?!"

Ponta: "I was exploring around and suddenly… I am here now!"

Monokuma: "Ah-hahahaha! If your master gets executed, you will befall to the same fate as him!"

Ponta: "I-I won't allow that! Somebody help me!"

Gilag: "It's fine Ponta, I won't allow anything to happen to you! I'll free you when the trial is over!

As Monokuma gave us the instruction, we stealthily headed towards our respective **podiums**. And then the realisation hit me, and again, an image of Michael's dangling body came to my mind.

I clenched my eyes shut and held myself tight, but no matter what, I couldn't get it out of my mind, that image... will haunt me wherever I'll go next, it will be forever printed inside my head until I am no longer alive…

I'll never be fully prepared to face the truth, but I give everything in this class trial for Michael's sake...

**Class trial In session**

Monokuma: “Now! Let’s begin with a basic explanation of the class trial! During the trial you will present your argument of who the culprit is, and vote for the blackened, in other words “whodunnit.” If you vote correctly, only the blackened will be punished. But if you pick the wrong person, I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened, who will go scot free, will graduate and receive their deck, with their family members receiving the same award! If they have it. Also, if you refuse to vote, it will result in your death, so you better vote for someone! Now let’s get on board with this exciting trial!”

Ryouga: “I think most of us have never been on a trial and don’t know what to do, although we should’ve been in one long time ago…”

Alito: “So that’s how you decide who is a criminal or not on earth… I have no idea where to start. Honestly, this is so complicated and unreliable, in the Barian world we had a crystal glass where we could see everything, problem solved.”

Durbe: “Not “everything”, otherwise we would have known Vector’s misdeeds long ago…”

Vector: “I think you guys are getting out of focus, isn’t that right Four?”

Thomas: “Shut your mouths already! I already know the killer who murdered my brother!”

What?!

Monokuma: “Wha- wha- wha-”

Monotaro: “H-He already knows?!”

Monophanie: “B-But they just got in and there wasn’t a single debate!”

Monokuma: “T-This would be the fastest ever class trial!”

Thomas: “There is only one person that could have done this, and I’ll expose you now so you better be prepared!!”

**Non-stop Debate Start!**

**Truth bullets:**

**\- Monokuma File 1**

**\- Ripped knot**

**\- Two empty space in the row**

Thomas: “Yesterday, I went to the warehouse to check out some stuff, when suddenly I encountered Yuma and Kotori, searching for tools.”

Ryouga: “Yeah, Yuma told us, you had your eyes on the package of plastic strings, and they asked to give one because it would help them to create the trap.”

Thomas: “I **gave him one pack** , and entrusted that to Yuma so he would succeed in his plan of capturing Monokuma or whatever trap they set for the mastermind, the same strings that were hanging around Michael’s neck!! **Yuma has been using the snare trap as an excuse to murder my brother**!”

Tetsuo: “H-Hold on! Yuma is not that type of person that would be able to murder someone!”

Vector: “Emotions shouldn’t get in the way in a trial, do you have any proof that Yuma didn’t?”

Tetsuo: “I- ah- dammit!”

Kaito: “What if the culprit simply took another one to pin the murder on him?”

Thomas: “There couldn’t be someone else, it was only me, Yuma and Kotori! And  **that should be enough to conclude Yuma killed my brother** !”

**X (from zeXal) Counter** :

**Two empty space in the row**

Kotori: “Wait! Four, you just said that you gave Yuma one pack, and I was there to watch, and nobody else was there to see the shelf full of those packs at that time.”

Thomas: “Yes, what about it?”

Kotori: “Then how come there are **two empty spaces on the row in the shelf**? You gave us only one, right? Then there should have been only one empty space, **and the prime suspect would’ve been the one person who had the strings**.”

Yuma: “Oh yeah that’s right!”

Droite: “However, since there are two empty spaces, this raises another possibility other than Yuma.”

Chris: “This doesn’t change anything!”

Yuma: “What…”

Chris: “After my brother left the warehouse, Yuma could have simply returned, and taken another one.”

Kotori: “W-wait! That’s impossible! Because Yuma and I were together the entire time, and if he left to take another pack, I would have noticed!”

Cathy: “Is just as Kotori said! Yuma could never murder a friend, he’s not that kind of person, I believe in him!”

Anna: “I believe in him too!”

Yuma: “T-Thank you-”

Anna: “Besides, is Yuma even smart enough to commit murder?”

Yuma: “I- ah.”

Casewell: “I completely agree with Anna.”

Ryouga: “This stupid fool can’t even solve a simple math problem, let alone make an intricating murder scene.”

Kaito: “I can hardly suspect Yuma of murder…”

Alito: “Yuma is not a scumbag, I believe in him.”

Kotori: “I firmly believe in Yuma, I was with him all the time, I know he didn’t do it.”

Vector: “You guys are all operating out of emotion, but this game is about suspicion. Remember what happened with the Rei Shingetsu incident? How about Yuma learned from my tricks and used your perception of him to use against his advantage?”

Yuma: “V-Vector?...”

Vector: “I am sorry Yuma, but I will doubt you until I can have faith in your testimony, evidence, is everything, and until anyone can prove your innocence, you can’t change my mind.”

Yuma: “...”

Vector: "Kotori, I have a question for you, were you and Yuma together the whole time, wasn't there a brief moment where he could have gone to the warehouse?"

Kotori: "We weren't together the whole time, but…"

If I say Yuma went to the warehouse, people are going to suspect him even more, but I know Yuma didn't do it.

**Non-stop Debate Start!**

**Truth bullets**

**\- Fan's design**

**\- Shards of glass**

**\- Yuma went to the warehouse again**

Vector: "Kotori, are you sure Yuma didn't leave for a brief period of time?"

Ryouga: "There is no other possibility other than if he did, huh… Kotori, everything depends on your testimony now."

Thomas: "If Yuma did,  **it's settled that he's the culprit!** **"**

**Yuma went to the warehouse again** -> **Yuma didn't go to the warehouse again**

**Perjury:**

Turn this lie into the truth!

Kotori: "Yuma never went to the warehouse again! I am telling you the truth! He couldn't have gotten another pack!"

Vector: "Hmmm, if you say so…"

Casewell: “Hey, so if Four gave Yuma one pack, and there was no one else there at the time, so the one other person that could have taken the second pack was… Four!”

Kotori: “Huh!”

Chris: “...?”

Tron: “Huh?”

Thomas: “What did you just say…?

Ryouga: “Casewell, you know what you’re saying, right?”

Tetsuo: “I agree with Casewell, I don’t think it’s impossible at all for Four to murder his brother to get out of this place!”

**Non-stop Debate Start!**

**Truth bullets:**

**\- Kaito’s account**

**\- Shard of glass**

**\- Jabot**

Thomas: “What the hell did you even dare to say punk?!”

Tetsuo: “Don’t think that I don’t remember that day when you treated us, your ex-fans as garbage and broke Casewell’s arm! You even dared to almost burn Rio to death and set Ryouga up to disqualify him! **A sick twisted person like you wouldn’t have any problems killing their own brother like that**!”

Casewell: “And also before Yuma came, you were already looking at those packs, this makes you even more suspicious than Yuma can ever be!”

Thomas: “Dumbheads like you would never understand! My family means everything to me! I didn’t take those strings because I have better ones in my own Ultimate Research Lab. And even if you assume I did take one, I never wouldn't have been able to set it up because **Yuma and Kotori would see me if I entered the library**!"

Ryouga: “But Yuma and Kotori finished their trap hours before Michael's estimated time of death… this should be enough time for the culprit to enter the library and prepare for the murder weapon and everything…”

Durbe: “So the people **who don't have an alibi at that time, are the suspects**.”

Haruto: “Then I don’t think  **Four stepped into the library at all** !”

**Agree Counter:**

**Kaito’s account**

Kotori: “I don’t think Four went to the library either, right Kaito?”

Kaito: “Yeah, around 10 minutes before the announcement, Michael and Thomas passed by my Research Lab, where there was me, Haruto, Chris, Tron, Droite and these two. After a few minutes later, only Michael headed out. And that’s the last time we’ve seen him.”

Tron: “...I see. I knew it… everything is… my fault.”

Chris: “Father what are you saying?”

Tron: “If I haven’t told Michael to go to the library… none of this would have happened…”

Thomas: “W-What? Why! WHY HAVE YOU SENT MICHAEL AND NOT ME!”

Tron: “…”

Anna: “I-It’s not like he knew what was gonna happen, so calm down.”

Alito: “But why would you send Michael to the library in a time like that, it’s kind of sus you know.”

Tron: “...”

Ryouga: “That’s a good question, why have you told him to go to the library?”

Tron: “...”

Rio: “So?-”

Tron: “I cannot say it… here.”

Gilag: “And why not? This is a trial so we need to get to the bottom of every mystery-”

Chris: “If he cannot say it, he must have a good reason, I suggest not to pressure him.”

Vector: “But why? Just a moment ago, you wanted to know Michael’s killer so bad and won’t tolerate any suspicions of _anyone_ , and if Tron doesn’t say anything, he's gonna be the prime suspect, what about now?"

Chris: "Don't make me repeat myself."

Vector: "Just because it came to your father, you’re gonna stay silent, huh?”

Why can't Tron say it?… I am sure he has a good reason. I should be careful at connecting the dots…!

  * Because Tron is the culprit
  * Because of Monokuma →
  * Because that was Michael’s last wish



That has to be!

Kotori: “Mr Byron… the reason why you can’t say it here is… because of Monokuma, right?”

Tron: “Huh!”

Monokuma: “Say whaaaat.”

Droite: “It’s fine, then I’ll do it.”

Tron: “What do you think-”

Droite: “I heard Tron ordering Michael to find which bookcase had the hidden door, my bad for not telling which bookcase it was…”

Monokuma: “Hhmmmm!”

Tron: “Ah-!”

Droite: “I was the first one to find it, and of course I didn’t know what to do to see what’s inside the hidden door. So I told everything I discovered to Kaito, right?”

Kaito: “Y-Yeah, we worked together the whole day to find access to the door, but I needed more help, and so I asked Chris and Tron to help us. And… both of us forgot… to tell which bookcase it was, so Tron thought we only knew there was a hidden door in the library, but he didn’t think that Droite first handedly witnessed it from the library… so he thought to send Michael to check it, which is normal since opening the hidden door meant going to the mastermind’s lair before the time limit expired.”

Tron: “...Yeah, t-that’s how it went pretty much.”

Monokuma: “Hmmmm, is that it? I thought it would be more interesting than that! I knew about this already!”

Durbe: “You already knew about this?”

Rio: “Could it be there are hidden cameras for you to spy on our every move?”

Monokuma: “I don’t need cheap hidden cameras! I can close my eyes and still can see everything!”

What a liar...

Monophanie: “Daddy! We can’t close our eyes, our design is meant to be similar to a stuffed animal so we weren’t given that function!”

Monotaro: “That function wasn’t given to father because he has to keep his eyes open all the time to stay alert! He doesn’t have time to rest. He’s so hardworking, he tries to provide for us and spoil us from the money gained from the despair entertainment *cries*! Father is the best!”

Monosuke: “Pops should really take a vacation and let us handle this!”

Monokuma: “Awww my cute little cubs are soooo damn cuuuute! I can’t handle all this cuteness!”

Ponta: "Nghhh! I will get my revenge-pon!"

Gilag: “I still don’t get why Tron got all worked up before, nothing happened.”

Vector: “Hahahaha! I get it now... It all comes together now!”

Mizael: “What was that just now?”

Vector: “*giggle* I am angry, that’s what’s happening, and you know the reason, right Monokuma?”

Monokuma: “*sweats* I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Tetsuo: “W-What’s going on?! Why is Vector acting so strangely?...”

Ryouga: “Huh...”

Droite: “Let’s ignore Vector, for now… Monokuma, you didn’t like the fact Michael was in the library for the reason he was sent for, so you guided him to his death using the culprit’s fatal trap to send your message to us, is my hunch correct?”

Tron: “Huh! You mean my… Michael died because of...”

Monokuma: " *sweats* I-I didn’t do anything! Whatever happened to Michael was totally deserved! He poke his nose into things he shouldn't have! This should teach you all a lesson, ah-hahahaha!"

Tetsuo: "I am completely lost…"

Casewell: "You're telling me!"

Cathy: "My head hurts from all this!"

Droite: "In the library two specific items were moved, that clearly proves you got involved to derail the trial to the wrong direction. I discovered this after I realised you tried to cover up an important fact."

Monokuma: “*sweats* Oh yeah? Then let’s see, what did I do to cover which fact?”

What does Droite mean by that?... I have to clear it up!

  * Monokuma strangled Michael
  * Monokuma hanged Michael’s body on the fan
  * Monokuma switched the name templates →



That has to be!

Kotori: "Is Monokuma the one who switched the name templates?"

Rio: "Those were completely attached to the shelf, it can't be taken off at all. So the only logical explanation would be if Monokuma did it!"

Durbe: "But what's the point of that? Michael was searching for the hidden door, wasn't he? He didn't go there to read books."

Kaito: "It was to disguise that reason. Monokuma wanted to make sure that least amount of people would know about this hidden door, so least people would investigate it, he anticipated Yuma and Kotori to be silent about their trap since it's very incriminating evidence, but they revealed everything."

Rio: "In fact, because of the switch, I thought Michael was there to read some books, if it wasn't for Kotori and Yuma to reveal their snare trap and the hidden door, I would have never got the sequence of events of the murder."

Monokuma: "Nyeh! What are these wild accusations?! You have no proof!"

Droite: "Rio, during the investigation, didn't you say you found some hair on it?"

Rio: "More like a fur of "we know who"."

Monokuma: “Nggghh! I am getting quite irritated now. So what if I switched some topic name template in my library! It’s not my fault if your jumbled brains come up to wild conclusions! I have plenty of good reasons to cover up the hidden door, but that doesn’t show how I “guided Michael to his death”! So s-stop it with your nonsense already!”

What Droite said wasn’t nonsense… there is proof, what is the other item that was moved that guided Michael to his death?

  * Monokuma moved the bookcase
  * Monokuma opened the library door
  * Monokuma ripped off the library sign →



Kotori: “Yuma! You remember to put a sign in the library, right?”

Yuma: “Of course! Because of the snare trap we created, we didn’t want anyone else to be in the library!”

Vector: “That sign would have been the thing that could have saved Michael’s life…”

Casewell: “W-wait! I remember to see a sign there! During the day I found a key that said to unlock a book inside the library, but because it was signed by the Monokubs, I was afraid to be squashed by the Exisals if I entered the library so I didn't!”

Cathy: “But I was passing by only few minutes before the murder, I didn’t see any sign!”

Monokuma: "Ngghhhhh! You got a lot of nerve! Putting there a fake sign, of course I would remove it!”

Haruto: “But didn’t you say yourself that you cannot get involved in any of our actions?”

Tron: “I… I won’t forgive you, I will never ever forget this! You made a big mistake… I won't stop fighting until there is a cotton strand left in you!! Even if it costs my life, I'll fight you and everything you created until the very end!"

Monokuma: “Ah-hahahaha! I don't think you'll live enough to do that! Don't you think this trial is taking a completely different turn? You still haven't found the culprit.~"

Thomas: "Yeah, we still don't have a clue of who the culprit is. We haven't moved on at all."

Alito: "But we still clarified a lot of things."

Anna: "Yeah, I was super confused before as to why Michael would go there and be in that state… now I am completely sure that this is murder in cold blood set by Monokuma!"

Monokuma: "...!"

Rio: "So we established that everyone in Kaito's Ultimate Computist Lab. Me, Droite and Kotori were in the restroom, so we also have an alibi."

Ryouga: "What about the people in the Game Room?"

Mizael: "Three people got out, Cathy, Tokunosuke and Yuma for a brief amount of minutes. So the only one who doesn't have an alibi at that time is Vector!"

Vector: "I was just in the dining to have what I thought was going to be my last dinner, that's it."

Ryouga: "As if, I passed by the Dining hall, I saw Vector there, and then when I opened the door guess who I saw him with? You were talking to Monokuma about something, weren't you."

Durbe: "I was with Shark at that time, the door was partially open but I can confirm what he saw."

Vector: "Ops, I guess I've been caught, this means I have an alibi, right?"

Ryouga: "Argh!-"

Tokunosuke: "Then everyone has an alibi… I knew it! It wasn't one of us, it was all Monokuma's doing!"

Cathy: "That can't be… I know one of us murdered Michael!"

Durbe: "You two exited the Game Room at that time after all…"

Tokunosuke & Cathy: "Eeeeeh!"

Tokunosuke: "W-Wait! S-Shark! When you saw Vector, how long was that?"

Shark: "It has to be at least around 10 minutes…"

Durbe: "I noticed the clock on the Dining hall, it said 20:46, precisely 14 minutes, so Shark's assertion is correct."

Tokunosuke: "That's it! 14 minutes would have been more than plenty for Vector to murder Michael! Monokuma told him everything about Yuma's method of the snare trap so Vector went to the warehouse and got the pack! And since Monokuma didn't like whatever Michael was doing he used Vector as a hit man to do his bidding!"

Vector: "What?!"

Casewell: "That's awesome Tokunosuke! You actually solved the case!"

Tokunosuke: "Well I am the "Ultimate Crime Detector" after all!"

Cathy: "And not to mention Shark and Durbe were out the exact amount of time!"

Rio: "But their alibis are backed…!"

Alito: "But we cannot ignore the fact one of them might be lying for each other, they are buddy buddy after all, honestly if Gilag was in trouble, I would back him up and try to defend him…"

Thomas: "I am not gonna lie, this definitely makes you look like potential suspects, Vector alone to do all the work seems less plausible at that time range, but with two people it wouldn't have been a problem! I I don't think Shark would defend Durbe, because of Rio, but Durbe might be the one defending Shark so he and Rio can escape." 

Rio: "Ah!"

Ryouga: "..."

Durbe: "You're free to think that, I don't blame you, but I will give my rebuttal and then it shall be clear."

**Mass Panic Debate**

**X Counter:**

**Cathy's account**

That's wrong!

Kotori: "Hey Tokunosuke, Cathy said a laser light was shot in her eyes, this means there was already someone in the library, and it wasn't completely dark for them."

Cathy: "Wait, but Tokunosuke came after me, and by that time, the person inside the library did already shoot my eyes with laser lights."

Kotori: "That's not what I am trying to say…"

Durbe: "You meant that the library wasn't "pitch black" as Tokunosuke described."

Tokunosuke: "B-But I am 100% sure it was! There wasn't any kind of light when I saw the library!"

Anna: "Then why didn't they shoot laser light at you to keep you away?"

Haruto: "But why would a culprit use a lame laser light to keep witnesses away? It worked on Cathy only because she had those Night vision contacts that made her eyes sensitive."

Kaito: "So this means a normal eyesight could have handled a little light."

Droite: "I think the entire premise of the argument is wrong, I don't think the lights were used to keep people away, but the opposite."

Rio: "What?!"

Yuma: "The opposite? What do you mean by that?"

Droite: "...I didn't think it was going to be this complicated to actually explain it. It will all be clear after we unravel the method used by the killer to commit this murder and the sequence of events."

Yeah, we need to look into the method to clear any suspicions and doubts against Yuma.

**Non-stop debate Start!**

**Truth bullets:**

**\- Monokuma File 1**

**\- Ripped knot**

**\- Rio's account**

**\- Shard of glass**

Mizael: "The method and order of events you say? Michael entered the library because Tron ordered him to check the bookcase with the hidden door."

Yuma: "Then he was captured by the snare trap that we prepared for the mastermind…”

Anna: “And the mastermind probably sent the culprit to **strangle Michael in his state** because he was trying to find the hidden door to end the killing… Poor Michael he didn’t deserve this!”

Tetsuo: “Since Michael went alone in the library,  **he couldn’t escape the trap** … and this gave killer plenty of opportunity to murder Michael!”

Cathy: “And then they shoot a laser light on my eyes to prevent me from seeing what was going on!”

There is something wrong with their statements… What Tetsuo said… could Michael really not escape?

**X Counter:**

**Ripped knot**

Kotori: “Umm, Tetsuo, I don’t think it went that way…”

Tetsuo: “Huh?!”

Kotori: “I remember that there was a **ripped knot on the floor** … which means **he freed himself from the trap**!”

**Argument**

Ryouga: “If you can’t handle this! Then don’t get involved!”

Kotori: “Huh?!”

Ryouga: “It’s obvious he didn’t free himself from the trap! That ripped knot doesn’t prove anything!”

**Rebuttal Showdown -Truth cross blade-**

**Truth cross blades:**

**\- Dangling string plastic**

**\- Jabot**

**\- Shards of glass** →

**\- Blue plastic**

Ryouga: “The reason why there was a ripped knot is… because the culprit freed Michael after finishing strangling him! Michael didn’t free himself on his own, he was alone in the library… He couldn’t even see his knot in that position!”

Advance!

Kotori: “But why would the culprit rip the knot? They could have just disentangled it…”

Ryouga: “Remember that the culprit was in a hurry, ripping it altogether would be the quickest way than disentangling it. Also, **Michael didn’t have anything to rip the knot** , what other explanation do you need?”

**Cut** :

\- **Shards of glass**

I’ll cut your words!

Kotori: “No, Michael definitely had something to use to rip the knot and free himself from the trap!

Ryouga: “And what was that exactly?”

Kotori: “The **shards of glass** , there were two huge sharp cracks of glass near the trap, even if the strings are sturdy, they weren’t enough for sharp edges, Michael in his upside down position, **he would have definitely seen them and used them to free himself**!”

Thomas: “That seems something he would do. He’s not gonna just stay like a rat in a cage, he’ll break the entire cage for ya.”

Chris: “If he saw those shards of glass, he would have definitely used it to free himself from the snare trap.”

Ryouga: “I guess I got it all wrong then. Just forget what I said and move along.”

Tetsuo: “You didn’t even apologise to Kotori!”

Kotori: “S-Shark doesn’t need to apologise! He was just trying to do the right thing.”

Thomas: "But I don't understand something… Why were there pieces of glass shards underneath your snare trap anyway?"

Vector: "It's almost like an invitation to free from the trap, almost as if left on purpose…"

Haruto: "This trap was supposed to be for the mastermind… yet there were shards of glass conveniently left for them to escape..."

Kotori: "I-I can explain! So I was taking one lamp out of the pack, and it just slipped from my hand! But I cleaned them up."

What proves that you cleaned the shards of glass?

Truth bullets

**Library's trash can**

Kotori: "See? The culprit probably put it there so that Michael would try to flee and then they could apprehend him."

Tetsuo: "Hmmm, that's weird…"

Kotori: "Is there something wrong Tetsuo?"

Tetsuo: "I just found a completely horizontal cut blue plastic found sticking out the wooden pile, but the trash can shows a blue **pack diagonally ripped open**!"

Yuma: "I opened that one!"

Kotori: "So as imagined, the second one must have been used to hang Michael from the fan..."

Rio: "The wooden piles are not really spacious, it would require a great balance to undermine something like this in such pressure…"

Kotori: "..."

Thomas: “Well, if the culprit lowered my brother's guard down, handling the heaviness of taking a life would have been a piece of cake. But… still! It isn’t easy to turn Michael's back around the corner and back stab, he’s fully trained in combat! If he freed himself, it is difficult to think that Michael just got strangled from behind without struggling.” 

Vector: “But what if… it was someone he trusted?”

Thomas: “Huh?!”

Vector: “Let’s look at it this way. After he was freed from the snare trap, the culprit, who is someone that Michael trust entered the library to murder him. For someone he trust immensely, it would have been way easier for them to commit murder.”

Tron: “Someone Michael trusted…”

Vector: “Kotori, may I ask you something?”

Kotori: “Yeah, sure…”

Vector: “What did you use as your signal if someone got into your trap?”

Kotori: “Ummm…”

  * By the sound of the wooden piles →
  * Electrical signal
  * Blackout



This has to be it!

Kotori: “If the trap was successful, the body would have gone up, whereas the book would have lowered down, but first the book would bash against the wooden piles really harshly. From the class above we can hear the creaks from the library so it would have been easy to hear that sound. Then I was the only one that could hear it, Yuma was in the Game Room telling me everything that was going on."

Durbe: "So you were checking on everyone as well."

Alito: "I think you were too focused on the casinos to call that concentration…"

Yuma: "I should have done a better job than that… I really believed I had everything under control…"

Monokuma: "Well too baaaaad!~"

Vector: "Anyway, when we think about the culprit being someone Michael trusts, we also need to keep in mind that Yuma and Kotori are the only ones who could have gotten the signal."

Tron: "Wait! So you're saying that since Kotori would be upstairs giving Yuma the news, Yuma would have received the message and gone to the library?"

Yuma: "Huh!"

Gilag: "Since Yuma is the one who created the trap, he would have those advantages than the other potential suspects!"

Yuma: "Y-You've got it all wrong! That's not what happened! I am not the culprit!"

Oh no! Everyone is suspecting Yuma again! I know for sure he's not the culprit, I gotta do something!"

**Non-stop Debate Start!**

**Truth bullets:**

**\- Library's trash can**

**\- Monokuma File 1**

**\- Sign of holding a sharp object**

**\- Vent**

Thomas: "Michael told me that Yuma was his first ever friend, Yuma was one of the people he had trust in the most, he considered you a friend, you traitor!"

Yuma: "I swear I didn't do it! I could never do something like that! I would do anything to prevent what happened but there was just nothing that I could do!"

Vector: "Sentiment is not going to get you out of this, you need to show proof that you didn't. Show how you **couldn't have done it**. If you can't, everyone is gonna vote for you."

Yuma: "Show that didn't do it... **I was in the Game Room the entire time**. After hearing Cathy's scream headed out and Tokunosuke went to the Game Room to call for help, I couldn't have anything because I had no idea what was going on!"

Vector: "However on that time period you could have killed Michael, Cathy's was so in pain that she **couldn't even tell if anyone entered the library or not**."

Anna: "Wait! Michael was strangled, right? He would need to have that plastic string with him in the Game Room! We did see he didn't have it on him!"

Vector: "Because it was already in the library. I think that Yuma freed Michael from his own trap, and used the ripped strings to strangle him."

Gilag: "Wait, so Michael didn't free himself?"

Vector: " **Was there any proof that he did?** Yuma is the one ripping the knot and freed Michael using the shards of glass, he knew about it because he left them there while making the snare trap. Michael trusted Yuma, so it was easy to turn his guard off. Then Yuma strangled the poor unalerted Michael from behind."

Is what Vector says true? I think there is a hole somewhere between his argument, I have to find out!

**X Counter:**

**Sign of holding a sharp object**

Kotori: “Vector, I am sure it was Michael that freed himself from the trap!”

Vector: “And where’s your proof?”

Kotori: “Michael had a red line between his palms. He tightly held to it while trying to free himself!”

Mizael: “But what difference does it make? Yuma still could have strangled Michael.”

Vector: “Now that I think about it, the ripped knot is quite too small…”

Mizael: “Huh?!”

Vector: “I was just checking how alert you guys were, but all of you are just dumbheads just as I presumed.”

Ryouga: “Speak for yourself!”

Anna: “Vector, you picked the worst to screw around! All of our lives are at stake don’t you get that?! Or you don’t care because you are the culprit!”

Vector: “Didn’t I already tell everyone, my alibi is backed by my best buds Shark and Durbe~"

Ryouga: "S-Shut up! It's disgusting to even hear that!"

Rio: "Kotori, I want to confirm one thing with you."

Kotori: "What is it?"

Rio: "Who set up the trap near the bookcase, the one on the floor."

Kotori: "It was Yuma… why?"

Rio: "Did you check that it was working?" 

Kotori: "Yes! It was, because Yuma accidently fell on the trap, and it worked perfectly."

Tetsuo: "Yuma fell on his own trap?! But this sounds like something Yuma would totally do…"

Rio: "This means later he had to re-do the knots again."

Ryouga: "What's your point?"

Rio: "I don't think Michael ever fell on that snare trap. This means Yuma could have used the full length of the plastic string to strangle him."

Kotori: "Huh?!"

**Non-stop Debate Start!**

**Truth bullets:**

**\- Monokuma File 1**

**\- Jabot**

**\- Blue plastic**

**\- Vent**

Rio: "Michael's body would reach pretty high up, so Yuma cannot just cut the plastic string to strangle him,  **I am sure Michael didn't even got into the trap,** because Yuma didn't set it up, so he could use it to strangle him-"

Ryouga: "Again with this story? Didn't we clear this already?!"

Rio: "Silence! Let me finish! After **Yuma used that long string to strangle Michael** , he tried to defend himself using the shards of glass he saw, which explains the red line in his palm. And then Yuma set up the trap to make it look like someone triggered the trap so that we think that plastic string wasn't used to strangle him..."

Droite: "Then what about the sound Kotori heard? Didn't she hear the signal when the trap was triggered?"

Rio: "This could have been easily faked by Yuma."

Cathy: "You all have been just **accusing Yuma for no reason!** Only because there was no one other than me when he exited the Game Room *sniffle* I have ears you know! **I heard him being worried about me!** "

Casewell: "How could you hear it between your high pitched cat screams of that kind, **I couldn't even hear my own voice!** "

Cathy: " *Hisss* "

Rio: "Unfortunately, that's the only logical conclusion I could come with. I did not want to believe it myself, but this is the best I could. If someone can refute my logic, please come forward."

**X Counter:**

**Jabot**

Kotori: "Rio, you say that Michael didn't fall in our trap, but then how do you explain the jabot we found underneath our trap."

Rio: "That was Michael's jabot?"

Droite: "I thought since Michael was upside down, Michael's jabot fell off due to gravity, but gravity alone wouldn’t be enough. The knot on his feet must be pretty high up, the struggle to reach his feet, the movement and gravity made his jabot fall off from his collar.”

Rio: “I guess that's the truth then… sorry Yuma."

Cathy: "We should seriously stop nitpicking and make Yuma look like the culprit! Michael fell into their trap and freed himself! Purriod!"

Casewell: "I am glad for Yuma but we're running out of suspects! As much I don't like to think, only Yuma could have done it…"

Tetsuo: "Casewell! You too?!"

Tokunosuke: "I-I c-can't help it as well. I am sorry Yuma!"

Yuma: "It's fine, I understand why you would think that…"

Poor Yuma… No! I can't stand around here and let this happen!

Kotori: "Yuma! You can't just say that! If we vote for you we all will be executed! I know you didn't do it!"

Yuma: "Who knows… maybe I really killed Michael… I couldn't save him…"

Kotori: "Yuma! I know you hate to suspect and doubt your friends, I know you're sick and tired, but we need to find the mastermind and the culprit for his sake!"

Yuma: "..."

Anna: "Yuma! Say something! Please!"

Tetsuo: "Everyone's gonna think you're the culprit! So say something already!"

Droite: "Yuma you have to show your rebuttal."

Kaito: "If you don't, everyone is gonna vote for you."

Ryouga: "Just defend yourself for Numeron's sake!"

Alito: "We know you didn't do it, you can definitely prove you're not the culprit because you're innocent!"

Cathy: "Yuma, I believe in you."

Durbe: "Yuma?..."

Yuma: "..."

Haruto: "Yuma… Hmph, we are kinda split now."

Monokuma: "Ho-Ho-Hold on! Did you say split?! I sure heard it!"

Ryouga: "What about it?"

Monokuma: "The Ultimate Academy is proud to present its very **morphenomenal trial grounds**!"

Kaito: "Morphenomenal trial grounds?... Trial grounds are gonna morph?"

Vector: "This sounds interesting."

Tron: "This sounds new to me…"

**Scrum Debate**

Is Yuma the culprit?

**Yuma is the culprit!:**

Gilag

Mizael

Rio

Casewell

Tokunosuke

Thomas

Chris

Tron

Vector

**Yuma isn't the culprit!:**

~~Michael~~

Durbe

Alito

Anna

Tetsuo

Cathy

Ryouga

Kaito 

Haruto

Droite

Yuma

Kotori

Thomas: "There was no one else at the warehouse other than Yuma, Kotori and me. Yuma is the only one who could have taken the second **pack** , leave it near the snare trap and use that one to strangle my brother!"

Anna: "You also could have taken that second **pack** from the warehouse, you were looking at them before anybody else."

Caswell: "In the end, everyone has an **alibi** , except for Yuma! He could have went to the warehouse again to get the pack."

Cathy: "Kotori and I backed up Yuma's **alibi** already! Kotori already said that Yuma never went to the warehouse!"

Tokunosuke: "However, Yuma is the only one who could have known about Michael's arrival, because Kotori would send the **signal**!"

Tetsuo: "Then that means everyone on the second floor at the top of the library are also suspects! Because there you can even hear the crackings from the wooden piles, you should hear the loud **signal** too!"

Rio: "Everyone on the second floor came to the library together. So it points to the people from the Game Room, and Yuma is the only one who meets every **requirement** that others couldn't because he created the snare trap with Kotori."

Ryouga: "Ha! Don't make me laugh, by **requirement** , do you also mean enough intelligence to complot all this? If he ever did something, Kotori would know it by now."

Mizael: "I was also a bit taken by the fact of Yuma as the culprit, but what if **Astral** was masterminding behind Yuma's actions?"

Durbe: "The subject of **Astral** being here with us was never brought by Yuma. If he was here we could have easily got out of this place, so I don't understand why Yuma wouldn't bring it up."

Tron: "Michael is not someone to put his guard down, unless it was someone who he **trusted**! Yuma is the only person Michael considered a friend, but he reduced it to shreds by using it to his advantage!”

Haruto: “Michael went to the library after you told him to go there! Yuma could have never anticipated who was arriving or even know if it was someone who **trusted** him to use against his advantage, because the snare trap was laid for the mastermind! Not for Michael!”

Tron: “Maybe Yuma decided to murder who ever got captured, thinking they could be the **mastermind**.”

Droite: “Then why bother to make a snare trap? He could have simply exposed the **mastermind** being Michael or clear misunderstandings, rather than killing him.”

Gilag: “What if he simply killed him because the **time limit** was going to expire?”

Alito: “Gilag! I can’t believe you would side that way! If the mastermind was captured, then the game and the **time limit** itself would be on hiatus! There is no need to kill them!”

Chris: “As you said, it would have been in “hiatus”, a small pause before the Exisals would have been activated to continue with the proceedings. And before that happened, he made sure to himself to murder for **reassurance** from anyone whoever was in the trap.”

Kaito: “Yuma couldn’t have murdered for **reassurance** in the first place. Remember that since Michael opened the moving bookcase, after a minute there would have a blackout for at least 5 minutes.”

Vector: “But Yuma knew about the fact there was only a 1 minute **timer**.”

Kotori: “Don’t you think that **timer** is a bit small to murder someone and suspend the body on the fan? It’s not enough time!”

This is our answer!

Kotori: “Guys! Believe me, Yuma cannot be the culprit!”

Cathy: “I said it before anybody else! *hiss*”

Thomas: “Argh! Fine… Yuma seems to be in the clear for now…”

Anna: “ “Seems to be"? He’s in the clear!”

Casewell: “But we explored every single possibility!”

Vector: “Unless we missed out something critical that was completely on the oversight, I must commend the culprit to come this far without being caught yet…”

Kotori: “There is no way, I am sure there is something else we can look into. Droite, you said something about the lights Cathy saw.”

Durbe: “You said they were not used to keep people away, but the opposite. Are you ready to tell us what you meant by that?”

Droite: “Hmmm, not yet. First, I need to reveal something, and I need Yuma to be in the clear in everyone’s list of suspects, because I firmly believe that he’s not the culprit, and the answers lay on the lights Cathy saw, that will point to the real culprit.”

Cathy: “I knew my account was going to be Yuma’s key card to the safety zone!”

Casewell: “You don’t even know what they mean...”

Tokunosuke: “But there were no lights when I saw!”

Tetsuo: “That’s a mystery we need to unravel…”

Rio: “Is the answer to the lights really going to solve all of these mysteries?”

Droite: “Definitely."

Haruto: “Wait… you said the answer lies in the lights, and it will point to the real culprit… does that mean you already know who is the culprit?”

Droite: “...Even if I told you, nobody would believe.”

Tron: “What?!”

Thomas: “If you reveal the culprit now, we can end this class trial!”

Chris: “Droite, we understand the truth will be difficult to accept, but the sooner we end all of this, the better.”

Droite: “I cannot do that until everyone is on the same page.”

Alito: “Ugh! How annoying!” 

Kotori: “So you’re going to guide us to the right answer, so everyone can be convinced…”

Droite: “Now then, as most of you might not know, after the moving bookcase is opened, after a minute there is a blackout, because the things are switched will go off, and vice versa. Now think, how could the culprit have killed Michael and suspended him on the fan within a minute?”

Tokunosuke: “The killer should have been able to see in the dark! I knew it was Cathy! Those lights weren’t there to begin with! She was just fake crying all along!”

Cathy: “ *scratches his whole face* this should teach you a lesson!”

Tetsuo: “I… I actually completely forgot about the fact Michael was hanging in mid-air from the fan…”

Kotori: “Don’t you think that Cathy alone would have difficulty at hanging his body?”

Durbe: “Then how about an accomplice?”

Kotori: “Huh?!”

Mizael: “Monokuma, what does the rules say about having an accomplice? Are both of them blackeneds?”

Monokuma: “The culprit can have accomplice if they decide to, however, only the one who does the act of killing would be blackened.”

Rio: “There isn’t much benefit for the accomplice in this case since they will be executed too.”

Tokunosuke: “But we didn’t know this until Monokuma told us! It’s decided! Yuma and Cathy complot all this after Cathy threatened Yuma!”

Cathy: “ *hiss* I would never threaten Yuma!”

Droite: “I don’t think it that way at all, I agree with the initial assertion by Kotori that Michael freed himself. Now this leaves us with one question, if the snare trap’s strings are high up, what was Michael killed with? Unless we can’t answer that question, we cannot move forward.”

**Non-stop Debate Start!**

**Truth bullets**

**\- Vent**

**\- Dangling twisted plastic string**

**\- Library’s trash can**

**\- Blue plastic**

  
Gilag: “What else could Michael be killed with? The only thing I can think of is the strings used for the snare trap! But that couldn’t be used because it was hanging high up.”

Alito: “I also cannot think of anything. Maybe the culprit **hid the second pack somewhere** after Yuma and Kotori left, and used that to strangle Michael!”

Vector: “Maybe  **it was the strings that were used to hang Michael’s body on the fan** . It was all twisted and was tightened on his neck.”

**Agree Counter:**

**Dangling strings**

Kotori: “I think it was the twisted strings that killed Michael.”

Tron: “Wait! That was near the rear corner of the door! Michael would have definitely seen it if he was past it.”

Droite: “But what if it wasn’t there when Michael entered the library?”

Chris: “So you’re saying that it was hidden somewhere within the time the library wasn’t occupied. And then the culprit snuck upon Michael and strangled him using that plastic string, only to pin the murder on the ones who created the snare trap.”

Droite: “Not exactly… You’ll have a hard time believing what I am going to say, but… I don’t think the culprit saw Michael’s face, or was even in contact with him, while strangling him to death…”

Thomas: “Huh!?”

Ryouga: “What?! If you’re physically strangling someone, you have to be both in contact and see their face!”

Kaito: “Is it what I am thinking? Did the culprit use the hidden door’s system in their method?”

Tron: “Hidden door’s system? You mean the 5 minutes blackout and the things that are turned off, turns on and vice versa?! Wait… don’t tell me.”

Vector: “Now I get it… Imagine if the plastic string was a jumping rope that was hanging from the fan in a U-shape after knotting the two handles together at each wing of the fan. If the fans were off, and they turned on at high speed during the blackout, if Michael was between the strings, which would have passed through his neck, it would start to twist, and eventually hang him up.”

Tetsuo: “Wait wait what?!”

Casewell: “T-To summarise, he was killed by a fan?!”

Tokunosuke: “And the culprit hid the strings on the fan after Yuma and Kotori left?!”

Vector: “Exactly.”

Tron: "That's just impossible! Michael's body with the speed of the fan would make the strings fall out of the wings! The culprit could not have the reassurance of that!"

Kotori: "The culprit definitely knew their trick around that."

What did the culprit take advantage of the fan?

Spot the selection

**  
  
**

Kotori: "There is a slight and small curve at the edge of the wing, which surrounds up the corners of the plastic string, that would have helped to resist the high speed."

Tron: “I see your reasoning now. But the culprit couldn’t have known Michael’s height!”

Rio: “But everyone’s information is on the D-Pad… so they could have known.”

Vector: “The culprit didn’t need to know his height. The bottom bit of the string was almost touching the floor, it would pass through your body up to your chin, where it would get stuck. Which in turn will start to twist the string because of its circular movement. The fan would have been at such a high speed that not even Michael’s reflex would have been quick enough.”

Thomas: “B-But if Michael was captured by the snare trap, he would have been near the bookcase! Why would he move from that area to the fatal trap on the rear corner?! They are clearly at the opposite sides of the library!”

Vector: “Maybe something attracted him there? Droite, you said the lights weren’t used to keep people away, but the opposite, to attract whoever fell on the snare trap. If I were Michael, I would have immediately left the library, however, how could I have left in such a dark room? Obviously if the light shined the door for me, I would have gladly past through the door, meaning pass underneath the fatal trap.”

Tetsuo: “Wait, the culprit couldn’t have simply anticipated for him to leave the library! That doesn’t make any sense, even if there was a light or whatever, I would have simply stayed calm where I was until the light returned!”

**Non-stop Debate Start!**

**\- Rio’s account**

**\- Fan’s design**

**\- Vent**

**\- Monokuma File 1**

Tetsuo: “Michael could have just stayed in the dark waiting for the light to come back!  **He didn’t have any reason to rush** !”

Casewell: “But maybe **he was in a rush** to tell his father about the bookcase with the hidden door, he completed the task already.”

Tokunosuke: “I don’t know, if the light really made him go near the entrance, shouldn’t he have seen the trap?”

Kaito: “Not if it was above the fan, the light would’ve scattered by the movement of the wings of the fan. If it illuminated the entrance, **the culprit knew that he would have been in a rush to get out**.

**Agree Counter:**

**Monokuma File 1**

Kotori: “The Monokuma File 1 shows that Michael had other injuries, a deep cut of 2.5cm in length on his feet.”

Anna: “And a huge swollen bump on his head with minor bleeding, I saw it with my own eyes, the file isn’t lying!”

Tokunosuke: “If someone would have these injuries, they would be in a rush to get out, Michael even possibly knew then someone was after his life after the culprit injured him!”

Droite: “It wasn't the culprit injuring him directly, when Michael tried to rip the knot with that huge crack of glass, he must have created that deep cut while struggling to rip that sturdy plastic string. The bump would have been caused by falling from that height when hitting the floor. There must have been some few little pieces of the glass underneath where his head layed, which must have caused that minor bleeding.”

Tetsuo: “So that’s why he was in a rush to get out.”

Chris: “Even if all of this seems plausible, the culprit needed to organise the strings on the fan while Michael was still freeing himself on the trap, therefore they had to know the precise time Michael was gonna trigger the snare trap of Yuma and Kotori’s. This alters Yuma’s alibi, the entire premise of the argument has changed, before we thought that Michael’s body was hanged, which required two people, however we now know Michael simply had to head out to the rear corner to get to the entrance, and the fan would do the work.”

Alito: “But that would mean Yuma had set all up on the fan in front of Kotori’s eyes…”

Kotori: “That can't be! Because only I worked on the wooden piles! If Yuma did something, I would have noticed!”

Rio: “Guys, we can’t jump to conclusions yet, we still haven’t solved the mystery being the lights, how did they set it up?”

Droite: “Now that you understand the method used to kill Michael, I can finally explain the lights. Monokuma?”

Monokuma: “Yeah yeah here it is!”

At that moment Monokuma brought the long string that was still twisted. And Monophanie handed it to Droite.

Droite: “As you can see there are two handles at the top of the fan stuck together like this. That’s why it didn’t fall easily at the speed of the fan. Now, this handle would look normal, however, see that red line on the handle?”

Rio: “Inside the line… There is an LED sewn there!”

Kotori: “I had them on my shoes when I was little, it would give out a vibrant pink light whenever I walked.” 

Droite: “In fact, **when it picks out movement, it gives out light**.”

Tetsuo: “So that’s what it was?!”

Casewell: “That was really clever from the culprit…”

Thomas: “Wait, can I see how it works?”

Kotori: “Droite, could you pass that? I can show it to everyone how it works!”

Droite: “Sure, but this is pretty long, I can just take off the handles and attach them with each other.”

Anna: “Wait; I thought they went together with the string… Don’t tell they are just detachable metal sticks?!”

Cathy: “The culprit must have detached the metal sticks, and attach them with the plastic strings! It wasn’t a plastic jumping rope!”

And then I swirled the metal sticks and a light emanated. 

Droite: “Now you can imagine the series of events.”

Kaito: “ After the blackout, he couldn’t see anything in the dark, so the fans turned on, and the handles detected movement and the wings of the fan scattered the light and illuminated the door. Since he had injuries to treat, he rushed outside, however that fata trap caught him.”

Kotori: “And after 5 minutes, the fans stopped moving, and it was dark again.”

Droite: “It takes a few more seconds for the fan to be completely firm when it turns off. When the fan is completely still, that’s when the light comes back.”

Tokunosuke: “So that’s why it was all dark when I saw it! I was just there for a second and went back to the Game Room to call the others!”

Chris: “But how does this determine the culprit?...”

Yuma: “I-I uh… That can’t be...”

Kotori: “Yuma, is there something wrong?”

Yuma: “I-I… I saw those metal sticks! I definitely saw them before!”

Droite: “Just as I thought…”

Anna: “That’s strange, I searched the warehouse top to bottom but still have a clue of where they come from…”

Kotori: “Yuma… tell us what you think, where did you see them?”

Yuma: “I...”

Kotori: “Yuma!”

Tetsuo: “K-Kotori, Yuma might have just mistaken… don’t get angry at him.”

Kotori: “Yuma…!”

I have to help Yuma to face the truth… otherwise he’s not gonna be able to go forward!

**Hangman’s Gambit**

P_M _ _M S_IC_ _ 

O, T, P, S, K (Before scrolling, you can give your answer in the comments, if you want to)

**  
  
**

POM POM STICKS

That has to be it!

Kotori: “Yuma… you already realised who the culprit is, right? Because only one person could have taken that metal stick and set it up on the fan… isn’t that right, Yuma?”

Yuma: “...”

**Accuse:**

Kotori: “The culprit of this incident is…” (Pick your answer in the comments, if you want to)

**  
  
**

**Decide:**

Kotori

* * *

_Kotori: Well, this is as far it goes for me._

_I’m sorry... Michael._

_I’m sorry... everyone._

_I am sorry... Yuma._

_You and Astral already realised it as the trial went ahead, right? You can’t stay silent like that._

_Otherwise everyone is going to be executed, and I can’t let that happen._

_I don’t think everyone is ready to face the truth... I know it’s a selfish request, but I am leaving all up to you, to show everyone the truth. That’s my last wish, and I am leaving to you two..._

_Yuma: ..! I know what you want me to do but... It isn’t fair! It’s just not fair..._

_Astral: Yuma…_

_Yuma: Alright, I’ll do it, I’ll do my best to carry your wish within me!_

* * *

Yuma: “Kotori…"

Kotori: "..."

Yuma: "...is the culprit.”

And everyone’s eyes looked at me as if I was some kind lunatic...

Tetsuo: “HUH?!”

Casewell: “Wha-wha-wha-wha”

Tokunosuke: “K-K-Kotori?!?!”

Cathy: “Y-Yuma, are you okay?”

Ryouga: “Did the trial make you go THAT crazy?”

Haruto: “Who wouldn’t after seeing your friend like that….”

Kaito: “Yuma… are you completely sure of what you’re saying?”

Durbe: “But, Yuma seems serious…”

Mizael: “It seems Michael’s death affected him a bit too much…”

Thomas: “Ah…”

Chris: “...”

Tron: “...”

Rio: “Yuma… this not the time to joke around. I understand if you’re trying to light up the mood, but you chose the wrong time-”

Yuma: “I am not joking around… Ngh! *sniffle*”

Astral: “I know this is hard for you, but we have to go through with it, Kotori entrusted her wish to you, if you need any help, I am here for you.”

Yuma: *nod*

* * *

_Elevator:_

_Kotori: “Yuma...”_

_Yuma: “K-Kotori...”_

_Kotori: “I am scared… to learn the truth, to face the person that caused so much pain for everyone… the person that we called a friend...”_

_Yuma: “Everyone is scared to face the cold truth, you’re not alone in this. But I know that I can’t look all moppy in front of everyone, when everyone is trying to do their best to go against Monokuma, and giving their all for Michael.”_

_Kotori: “Y-You’re right, we’ll find Michael’s killer! And no matter how cold the truth can be, we must face it at all costs, for the sake of everyone. And if you are stuck, borrow the strength from everyone, and together, reach the truth.”_

_Yuma: *nod*_

* * *

Kotori: “Yuma…”

Tetsuo: “What the hell are you saying! Pull yourself together!”

Yuma: “Those aren’t metal sticks, those are pom pom sticks. It was from the Ultimate Cheerleader lab.”

And then everyone’s face was completely pale, it was a complete bolt of shock. 

Tetsuo: “W-What if it is?! Anyone could’ve gone to the Ultimate Cheerleader lab!”

Monotaro: “Nah-ah! The key card to enter is with the owners of the labs! So unless they purposefully left it open, which isn’t the case here, no one could have entered!”

Anna: “Now I remember… I saw her swirling it on the way to the dormitory… but those had pom poms on it...”

Tetsuo: “T-Then the real culprit stole Kotori’s key card when they weren’t looking!”

Kotori: “I had my key card on me the whole time…”

Tetsuo: “Y-You’re not admitting to actually doing it, right?!”

Kotori: “*giggle* Of course not! I was with Yuma the entire time! If I’ve done anything, he would have definitely seen it. And I was in the second floor bathroom when Michael died. No matter how you look at it Yuma, I couldn’t have killed Michael.”

Anna: “That’s right… Kotori being the culprit is out question!”

Alito: “That should have been obvious from the start!”

Ryouga: “Yuma… what’s gotten into you, you actually accused Kotori?!”

Astral: “Yuma… she wants you to convince everyone that she did it.”

Yuma: “*whisper* I know I know…”

Tetsuo: “I refuse to let you go off the hawk Yuma! Don’t worry Kotori, I will clear your name in an instant!”

**Non-stop Debate Start!**

**Truth bullets**

**-Vent**

**-Blue Plastic**

**-Four's account**

**-Library's trash can**

Tetsuo: "The plastic strings from hanging on the fan were from the second pack, righ?  **Four gave it to Yuma, not to Kotori!** "

Thomas: "Yeah, that's right…"

Casewell: "And Kotori couldn't have come to the warehouse later on because she was with you the entire time!"

Durbe: “It would have required a lot of stealthiness to do something without notice…”

Tokunosuke: “How would she have done it without you noticing?”

Astral: “Yuma, listen carefully to each argument to find the contradiction.”

**X Counter**

**Four’s account**

Yuma: “I know it’s hard to face the truth, I don’t want to accept it either, but I am completely sure that Kotori is the only person who could have done this. Recall what Four said, that me, him and Kotori were the only ones in the warehouse, and no one else would have known about what I obtained, except for Kotori. Before our eyes, she could have taken another one the exact moment Four was handing one to me…”

Thomas: “Ah!...”

Yuma: “When we were working on the trap… Kotori decided to work on the wooden piles… Ngh!”

Kotori: “Yuma… Tell me then, when I would have been able set up the strings on the metal sticks, and set it up on the fan without you noticing?”

Tetsuo: “Yeah! You guys were together the entire time!”

No, we weren't together the entire time, but when did she do it?

  * When I was in in the Game Room
  * When I went to the warehouse →
  * When I was knotting the string



That has to be it!

Yuma: “To tell the truth, Kotori and I weren’t together the whole time, in between our set of traps, I went to the warehouse for a second time to get a pack of light bulbs and walkie talkies, it took me at least around 20 minutes. It was really hard to find them.”

Rio: “20 minutes should have been more than plenty to set it up on each wing of the fan…”

Tetsuo: “Wait! Since the Kotori supposedly hid the strings on the fan, after hearing Michael trigger the snare trap, she had to come to the library to pull out the strings so it was hanging in the air! And she had to pass through you!”

**Non-stop Debate Start!**

**Truth bullets**

**\- Rio’s account**

**\- Vent**

**\- Library’s trash can**

**\- Fan’s design**

Tetsuo: “Then explain Yuma! How would she have come from the second floor bathroom to the library?”

Rio: “I can attest that I saw Kotori in the bathroom with us! Droite was here too, **we were together until the moment we arrived downstairs** to check on Cathy, and find Michael’s body.”

Tokunosuke: “See? She has an alibi! From two people to be exact! **You can’t point any accusations at Kotori!** ”

Vector: “Looks like Kotori has a solid argument, **is it even possible to break it down?** ”

Ryouga: “If that’s the case, then there is just no room for argument, because there  **wasn’t a single way she could have reached the library from the bathroom.** **"**

Astral: “Recall all the facts we’ve collected during the investigation. Use it to contradict their statements.”

**X Counter:**

**Rio’s account**

Yuma: “Rio, you say that Kotori was together with you and Droite the whole time, is this true?”

Rio: “I mean… not the whole time, but we were together the entire time in the bathroom.”

Tetsuo: “Do you even dare to challenge Rio too?!”

Yuma: “I am not challenging Rio, but need you to remember clearly, did Kotori disappear for any long amount of minutes?”

Rio: “I…”

Droite: “Yes, I remember, she went inside the vent because her hair clip slid inside the vent.”

Rio: “But how is this connected with Kotori’s alibi?!”

How does this reveal that Kotori could have in fact travelled to the library?

V_N_ C_N_ _C_I_ _ 

N, T, O, E, E, T (Before scrolling, you can give your answer in the comments, if you want to)

VENT CONNECTION

Yuma: “The bathroom vent is actually connected to the library, the rear corner of the library fan is 10 feet away from the vent, so Kotori actually used the excuse of the hair clip to actually go to the library.”

Tetsuo: “Whaaaat?!”

Ryouga: “Ah!”

Tetsuo: "Well how would she have known about the two vents being connected?!"

I know Kotori knew about the vent because…:

  * Because I told her
  * Because Monokuma told her 
  * Because of the D-Pad map of the school



This has to be!

Yuma: "Kotori told me that when she was in the bathroom during the day, Monokuma told her about the two vents being connected."

Monokuma: "I can attest to that!"

Tetsuo: "No way… no way that happened!"

Casewell: “Well d-do you have any proof she did? What if she didn’t lie about her hair clip falling?”

Droite: “Well… about that, I have something of my own to share… but first, Kotori, you said that you retrieved your hair clip, but was that true?”

Kotori: “I… I actually lost it on the vent… I must have pushed it with my body when I was squatting?”

Droite: “Well, I found it when I was investigating through the vent, and unfortunately, it was awfully close to the library… There is something else I found as well. Here.”

Haruto: “A yellow plastic?”

Yuma: “That yellow plastic… it comes from Kotori’s Pom Pom sticks, right? It was of colour pink and yellow…”

Ryouga: “Don’t tell me that Kotori went to the library, pulled out the strings, and took off the pom poms from the metal sticks, and came back to the bathroom as if nothing happened. Also she had to make sure of everything within a minute, this would require a good time management! How could she pull off something like that?!”

Tetsuo: “Y-Yeah! She doesn’t have a clock in her head!”

How did Kotori manage her time perfectly?

  * Because she was counting
  * Because she has a cuckoo bird clock
  * Because of the pink watch →



That has to be it!

Yuma: “Earlier today, I remember winning a pink watch in the casino, however, I gave that watch to Kotori. Using the watch she could have controlled her time management.”

Tetsuo: “Nghh! I… I won’t give up! You expect me to believe all this?! How did Kotori even reach the fan?! The vent was high up you know! Under that “a minute” pressure, any normal person would tremble and mess up a foot on the wooden pile, you know!”

However it’s different for Kotori, she could have balanced herself on the wooden piles even under that pressure because:

  * She is the Ultimate Gymnast
  * She is the Ultimate Cheerleader →
  * She is the Ultimate Sport Leader



This has to be it!

Yuma: “It wouldn't be a challenge for Kotori, because she is the Ultimate Cheerleader. *sniffle*”

Tetsuo: “I-I-I can’t… believe this…! I mean, we are talking about Kotori, you know?!”

Tokunosuke: “S-She is the most innocent in here! And you’re saying SHE strangled him to death?!”

Durbe: “So most of Kotori’s sins were done right in front of Yuma… and us...”

Yuma: “Yeah… I was with her in the warehouse, Four was there too…”

* * *

_Thomas: “I see, feel free to take them as much as you want, here take it Yuma and give hell to that bear!”_

_As Four granted his permission, I immediately took the pack and shoved it into my fluffy, pink little backpack._

_Kotori: “Thank you it will help us a lot.”_

* * *

Yuma: "And in the library…"

* * *

_Kotori: “Also, for the small object, we didn't get it from the warehouse yesterday, I’ll suggest it be a normal transparent light bulb since it will be less visible…”_

_Yuma: “That’s a great idea! I’ll try to bring some spare in case it breaks…”_

_Kotori: “Yeah! That would be perfect, just take your time, I’ll try to be done as soon as you come back.”_

_Yuma: “Alright then!”_

_Alright… it’s time to get to work! Even if it will be difficult… I have to do it, it's the only way to stop the mastermind and save everyone…_

_I inspected the library for a bit and found a ladder conveniently placed at the opposite side of the library. I moved the ladder toward the position of my trap and reached the wooden pile. I got the things I needed out of the bag and attached the strings and knotted. My hands were a bit slippery, it was very nerve-wracking, but it would save my friends, so I hardened my palms, and got to work. Then leaving work half progressed, I came back down as I could hear Yuma's running footsteps._

_Kotori: “W-wow, you took a while!”_

* * *

Yuma: "And when she was in the bathroom."

* * *

_Kotori: “I realised my hair clip fell inside the vent when I tried to pick up my bag!”_

_Rio: “Inside the vent is pretty dark, it will be difficult to get it back…”_

_Droite: “Unless you have a light source.”_

_Despite the vent being dark, I positioned myself and entered the vent. I hope the camera doesn’t capture any of this…_

_Kotori: “Don’t worry, I’ll just use the light of my D-Gazer!”_

_Rio: “Okay then, good luck!”_

_I struggled to squat inside the vent but I did as long it took, it couldn’t have been that far… I would retrieve it no matter what. As soon as I completed my mission, I heard a huge thundering from the vent… could it be… I heard my heart palpitate faster and faster, and my body trembling at the rush of my adrenaline. I squatted myself back into the bathroom as soon as I could._

* * *

Tetsuo: "Kotori! Say something! T-Tell *sniffle* him that he's wrong!"

Ryouga: "I can't just believe all this… Kotori out of all people?"

Anna: "Kotori! Why aren't you saying something?! I can't believe it until I hear it from you!"

Cathy: "Yeah, s-same!"

Alito: "I just can't accept it! Why Kotori?! WHY?!"

Casewell: "No, that's just impossible! Kotori murder in cold blood?! That's not Kotori! It goes beyond the realm of any possibilities!"

Haruto: "N-No way… Kotori? She is the culprit…?"

Kaito: "Agh…!"

Mizael: "We determined our soul to find the culprit, yet, the one we never expected turns out to be one, in the end we still gave in to our bias and feelings to get in our way, and still wish not to accept, it's rather ironic."

Vector: "Argh! Even I wouldn't have expected an outcome like this…"

Droite: "I figured a long time ago, and this very reason I felt troubled and conflicted during the whole investigation. Even if my deduction led me to this conclusion, it went against the Kotori we've come to know, I didn't want it to believe in any of this…"

Thomas: "I wanted to know the true identity of the person who took away the most precious person from my life, but… I don't feel satisfied with the outcome…"

Chris: "I truly did not expect this outcome."

Tron: "Argh!"

Yuma: "*cries* It's not right… This isn't Kotori!"

Kotori: "Yuma…"

Yuma: "Murder in cold blood? This is not the Kotori I've known for so long! And I believe in that Kotori! I believe in you!"

Astral: "Yuma?..."

Kotori: "No… Yuma, why do you still believe in me? You can't do this! Why are you still looking away from the truth?!"

Yuma: "No, that's not it. My belief in the Kotori we've known so far it's gonna lead me to the truth!"

**Argument Armament Start!**

Kotori: 

What are you saying?

Are you saying I am not the culprit?

Only because I don't look the part?

I am definitely the culprit!

I killed Michael!

Stop being so gullible!

You haven't changed at all…

Everyone's lives are at stake!

You can't look away from the truth!

Please, just stop!

Do you know what I was trying to do?

Kill The Mastermind

That has to be!

Yuma: "You wanted to kill the mastermind before the time limit expired… You were trying to protect us!"

Thomas: "She tried to kill the mastermind?"

Droite: "Kotori wasn't targeting Michael, he just happened to be there after Tron ordered him to come. The snare trap, the pieces of shards left, the blackout and the light from the pom pom sticks, everything was prepared for the mastermind."

Rio: "Kotori probably even refused to see the victim's face from the wooden pile, she couldn't bear the thought of taking their life…"

Yuma: "Everything is my fault, everything happened in front of my eyes, but I still refused to acknowledge anything… *sniffle* and I couldn't do anything in the end…"

Kotori: "Yuma, please don't say that… nothing is your fault! Everything is my fault! I killed him! I should be the one to blame for everything!"

Yuma: "Kotori…"

Kotori: "Yuma… Astral… could you do me one last favour for me?... Could you end all of this?"

Yuma: "Huh?"

Kotori: "Convince the others that I am the culprit, and end this… Please..."

Yuma: "Ngh! I… I will try, I'll reveal the truth and the lies."

Astral: "Kotori wants you to convince the others that she is the culprit, so refer her as one in the closing argument."

Yuma: "Alright… let's do this Astral."

* * *

**Closing Argument**

Yuma: "This is the truth of this case!"

Act 1

"It started the day before the murder, where Monokuma gave the **second motive**. The time limit added to the killing game triggered this crime."

"After the announcement, the culprit and I decided to explore the school trying to find the mastermind's lair. And this outcome was the furthest thing away from my mind."

Act 2

"After exploring so many places around the school, we had an encounter with Droite at the library, who was secretly looking into the moving case. Eventually, I accidently found out about it, and so she revealed everything about its system, and about the chance that the mastermind might be constantly in contact with one of us."

"From there, the culprit came with a plan of capturing the mastermind by using a snare trap, and that might have been the moment she planned to murder them… However, Droite gave us a warning, and looking back at it now, I wished I took that to heart."

"Later, we went to the **warehouse** to gather materials for the snare trap, however we found someone else there, Four, looking at blue packets containing plastic strings."

"Later we asked Four to pass one of them which he gladly gave it to me. However, the culprit snached another one without our knowledge, and put it in her backpack."

Act 3

"But before we started to create the snare trap, the culprit had the urge to go to the bathroom, where she saw Monokuma, who told her the two vents were connected. And while I was waiting, I found Tetsuo, Casewell and Flip on the second floor, so I followed them to the same classroom the culprit was supposed to wait, that's when I found you could hear even the slightest sound from the library."

"Then all of us, including the culprit, arrived at the casino, where I gave her the watch I won."

"We finally started working on the trap, the culprit was working on the wooden piles while I was working at the bottom. And then later on she pinpointed that an item was missing for the trap, a four inch object, which she decided that it should be a light bulb. So I went to the warehouse again, which must have been around 20 minutes. The culprit used that time to set the plastic strings on the fan. Although she had no trouble at standing on the wooden piles that long, as she was the Ultimate Cheerleader, I could have imagined how nervous she was, as she left a piece of evidence, the blue plastic bit of the packet, which was a horizontal cut, while I ripped it off diagonally."

"After we finished setting up the snare trap, the culprit thought of leaving huge pieces of glass from the light bulb, at the time I thought she broke it accidentally, however, it was intentional. The culprit even took half an amount and cracked another light bulb, to make it look like she binned those glass pieces."

Act 4

"After the trap was set, the culprit advised me to keep a watch in the Game Room, while she waits for the signal. Alongside the light bulbs, I also brought two walkie talkies to communicate. Then we only had to wait for the mastermind to fall in our snare trap, however the culprit had other plans."

"Four and Michael came to the Ultimate Computist lab, where Michael was ordered by Tron to find which bookcase had the hidden door on it, however he never came back... After Monokuma saw what Tron was planning to do, he ripped off the **library sign** and switched the **topic name templates** of the shelf to disguise the reason for Michael's arrival. I created it to keep people away from the trap. And unfortunately, he opened the hidden door and got captured by our trap, without a doubt as his jabot was found underneath the trap due to gravity and the movement of his body, however, he freed himself using the shard of glass that the culprit left."

"In the meantime on the second floor the culprit probably already heard the sound of the book hitting the wooden piles after Michael triggered the trap. Thinking it was the mastermind, the culprit rushed to the bathroom's vent, but unfortunately for them, Rio and Droite entered the bathroom too. So the had an idea, they took their hair clip and tossed it on the floor and slid towards the vent, to use an excuse to enter the vent, this also unknowingly created their alibi."

"This required incredible time management, but our culprit had a watch to check the time from, and within a minute she managed to walk towards the fan, pull down the strings, and take off the pom pom from the metal sticks to erase her involvement, and return back and act as nothing happened. Our culprit however left another two pieces of incriminating evidence, she must have been so nervous that she completely forgot for the reason she used as an excuse to come to the vent, the **hair clip** and a **yellow plastic** from the pom pom remained inside the vent."

Act 5

"Within that minute, Michael must have struggled to get out of the trap, as they created a deep cut on their feet, and formed a swollen bump with minor bleeding as he fell on some small pieces of glass. Then, the library must have had a blackout, but since Michael was injured, he must have been in a rush to get out. And because of the hidden door's system, the fan switched on, and the pom pom sticks detected movement, which emanated a vibrant light." 

"Unfortunately, the library's door was left half open, and by chance, Cathy passed by, and the rays of light hit her sensitive eye contacts. As the culprit safely returned to the bathroom from the vent, that must have been the moment the culprit told me about our trap being triggered."

"Meanwhile, Michael tried to rush outside, but strings caught his body and got stuck on his throat as it was moving in a circular motion, the fan was moving so fast Michael's reflex wasn't quick enough to get off the strings from his throat. The strings started to twist, and slowly… Michael got strangled."

"And a few minutes later, everyone near the library rushed inside, I imagine the culprit hoped to find the mastermind, and everyone was safe now, but only in our horror, there was a hanged body of one of our precious friends, horribly murdered. It was a desperate attempt to be alive to see another day, and that is the truth."

"And that's the truth behind your lies, Kotori Mizuki, the Ultimate Cheerleader".

* * *

Yuma: "And this is everything that happened…"

Tetsuo: "K-Kotori… really… did it? *sniffle*"

Casewell: "*cries*"

Tokunosuke: "*cries*"

Everyone's face went pale, some people were crying their eyes out, some had a pained expression on their faces, the atmosphere was filled with gloom, and my chest felt it was going to burst out. I clenched my key as hard as I could, but no matter what, I could cope with this feeling of despair… 

Kotori: "Well done Yuma, I was hoping that you would find out."

Yuma: "Huh?"

Kotori: "You didn't run away from the truth this time… I was almost worried that you would be deceived again, and you would suffer even more from the pain I caused to everybody, but you didn't back down, your ardent kattobingu spirit flowed through even the deepest despair, and you can be reliable even without dueling. If you did that more often... you would be a pretty cool guy."

And with that, Kotori let out an apologetic smile…

Yuma: "Why Kotori…? Why are you still trying to help me grow from my past mistakes?! Why are you thinking of everyone else except yourself?! Why?!"

Kotori: "I am sorry…"

Thomas: "Ngh! Dammit…!"

Monokuma: "Are you done with your tearjerker now!? If you haven't realised yet, you still gotta vote!"

Monotaro: "Yep yep, at the end of the debate you gotta vote for someone!"

Monophanie: "Now! Cast your votes a-and s-sacrifice tha-at person to take on the all g-gory stuff for y'all!"

Monosuke: "Otherwise your fates will be tied with that person, so if you don't wanna a death warrant, you gotta vote for someone!"

Ponta: "L-Let me go now-pon!!"

Monokuma: "Ahhh, this heart-pounding excitement!"

Monokuma & Monokubs: "IIIIIT'S VOTING TIME!"

**Voting Time**

Kotori Mizuki

Monokuma: "Puhuhuhu, it seems the voting has finished! Who'll be chosen as the blackened!? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one!?" 

**Verdict**

Kotori Mizuki!

Monokuma: "Absolutely correct! You all voted correctly! The blackened who killed Michael Arclight was the **Ultimate Cheerleader** , Kotori Mizuki!"

Kotori: "You all voted correctly, that's great."

Tetsuo: "What?! What the hell do you mean by "great", we all voted correctly?! This is the worst outcome!"

Vector: "So you wanted to die? Don't you think being condemned to death by someone who you thought was your friend is the worst outcome?"

Tetsuo: "...!"

Tokunosuke: "W-Why did it have to be Kotori?! I w-would have been fine with it with Vector or Four!"

Casewell: "Y-You shouldn't have said that outloud…!"

Thomas: "..."

Alito: "How did it come to this?... We were all buddy buddy just this morning, and we were preaching to beat the crap out of Monokuma and the mastermind… so why?!"

Gilag: "Dammit! It's all our fault! Kotori and Yuma were one of the few people that found about the hidden door, so because we don't fight over who the traitor is, they didn't say a damn thing! If we all knew about this hidden door and everyone worked together, we could have done something! It's our fault that we were dumbheads! We expected to beat Monokuma with conventional methods that wouldn't have done sh*t! We suck up too much pride, and because of that, we let Monokuma have his way!"

Alito: "Agh! Argghhhhhhhhhh!"

Anna: "I can't believe any of this, the Kotori I've known so far, how could a person like that let murder fill her heart?"

Rio: "I cannot accept it either, until I hear it from you."

Durbe: "I cannot believe it until I hear your side of the story."

Kaito: "Why trying to kill the mastermind, you and Yuma already created a trap to capture them."

Kotori: "I… hoped that our trap was going to work… However I noticed a small security camera in the bathroom near the vent. I wanted to myself that it was only found in the bathroom, but that was less plausible, right? I truly wanted to believe that, but I just couldn't, that's when I decided to create that death trap."

Droite: "But what if the mastermind knew about that too?"

Kotori: "That's why I created that snare trap, so the mastermind wouldn't pay attention to the death trap I was creating. I… I just couldn't let the mastermind have his way… I wanted to escape with everyone." 

Vector: "But unfortunately you already lost to Monokuma the moment you had the moment you started thinking about it."

Cathy: "But if Kotori didn't do anything, w-we would have all been executed by now…

Thomas: "You didn't have to murder, you know! There are always less drastic solutions! A-And I learned that through experience… Kaito and everyone, they were working their ass off to end this stupid killing game… the you didn't have to take my brother's life to make us see another day!"

Droite: "Ah… I agree with what Four just said, but it would have required more time than expected… to end the killing game..."

Thomas: "Huh?"

Chris: "Unfortunately, it is true…"

Tron: "I am accountable for this in a way. Monokuma played us right into his hand…"

Kotori: "There is still no excuse for what I've done, I couldn't even be able to kill the mastermind, instead I killed one of our dearest friends, and one of the most important person in your life. I caused so much suffering and despair! I took an innocent life! What I did is… so unforgivable. I am just a horrible murderer! I am lowlife scumbag! *cries*"

Ryouga: "K-Kotori, c-calm down!"

Kotori: "..."

Casewell: "But I still don't understand, why make us go through this class trial?"

Kotori: "I wanted to end by confessing, however, I wanted to encourage you to move forward and cheer you on until the very end."

Yuma: "That's why you wanted me to solve the case and reveal the truth…"

Mizael: "You wanted to stay true to your Ultimate talent until the very end…"

Ryouga: "But still, you covered your tracks and everything, if you kept your mouth shut, we seriously would have voted for the wrong person!"

Kaito: "Yeah, but she didn't want Yuma to know."

Yuma: "Huh?"

Kotori: "Of course, but I didn't want everyone else to know that I murdered someone..."

Monokuma: "How long is this gonna continue for?! Let's end this boring display and make this scene more interesting! And now, the moment all you've all been waiting for!"

Monokuma & Monokubs: "It's **Punishment Time**!"

Anna: "P-Punishment?"

Vector: "You mean Kotori's execution?"

Tetsuo: "I'll never let this happen! Not even in a million years!"

Alito: "Now you've just asked for it! I won't leave even a cotton strand of you!"

Gilag: "HYEAAHHHH!"

Everyone was rushing in front of Kotori to defend her. Even the most unexpected person.

Kotori: "Four?..."

Thomas: "Tch. Even if it's you, and after all the reasons you've told, I can't still forgive you for what you did. Even when my father and Chris were away, the only person that never left my side was Michael. Despite everything, Michael was the most important person in my life, I would give up my life a thousand times for him if necessary, but I am just a useless big old brother that couldn't do anything for him in the end. But if he was still here, he would never let this happen to you, no matter what. I know that's what Michael wants. Despite all the sufferings you put him through, he would still try to protect you. SO I CAN'T STAND HERE AND LET THIS HAPPEN ON MY WATCH! If you're gonna execute Kotori, you'll have to pass through my grave!"

Monokubs: "Exisals! Assemble!"

Monokuma: "Punishment Time is a sacred segment! You're not allowed to interfere!"

Ryouga: "Ready, steady, now-!"

Kotori: "Everyone! Stop! I appreciate it, but there is no need, I will go through punishment, and atone for Michael's murder… I already prepared myself..." 

Ryouga: "Why are you giving up after putting your life on the line like this?!"

Kotori: "No, I am not giving up, because I have put my absolute faith in you guys. You guys better live!"

Monokuma: "I have a special punishment prepared for the Ultimate Cheerleader, Kotori Mizuki!"

Kotori: "Every single one of you! End this stupid killing game and get the out of this place! Okay?"

Monokuma: "Let's give it everything we've got! It's… PUNISHMENT TIME!"

Kotori: "Goodbye, everyone."

Yuma: "NO! PLEASE, WAIT!"

* * *

And before I could say any other word, Monokuma hit a red button with a plastic gavel...

GAME OVER

Kotori Mizuki has been found guilty.

Time for the punishment!

(Warning: Depiction of violence - please don't read the following part if you're not mature enough)

Yuma (view, not thoughts):

As soon as Monokuma said that, I ran towards her to grab her arm, and so were our friends, but in between my eyes, a chain with a collar appeared behind her, and just when we reached her, it took her away from us, and locked her away. 

She eventually fell in a mat, pom pom with sticks were tied in both of her hands with a rope, and so were her feet. The mats then were stacked as a pyramid, it was 50ft in height! Kotori's feet were forcibly moved and she was cheerleader dancing, and she jumped up a mat, and she continued, she started to jump up and up, and her pace increased. She was thrown all kinds cans, tomatoes, and food, it eventually got to plastic bottles and rocks. And then as she reached the top, cheerleader dummies appeared. They held her and threw her up in mid air. The ropes from her hands disappeared, and so as the dummies. Kotori fell 50ft from the ground, her head facing downwards, eventually hitting the concrete, and as soon as her head cracked open, the green Monokub, Monodam tripped over and pushed Monokid, who got destroyed at the impact. Her head was smeared with pink, and the blood was still gushing out non-stop. 

* * *

Yuma: My eyes couldn't let go of the sight, my body was giving out, and I felt like losing all of my senses. Kotori, the person I have known from childhood, the person who was there to support me and encourage me at my side whenever I lost the drive, laid dead on the ground… she no longer existed in our world. I didn't know what to do other than just stare, I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to… my eyes were fixed at her final moments, I could only yell…

Yuma: "STOP IT! PLEASE JUST STOP! KOTORIII!"

But nothing worked, Monokuma continued to do what he was doing, and laughed at my despair. I bashed my head, my arms, my knees, but my pleas were not heard. 

My body couldn't move after that, the powerlessness I felt… it made me even more powerless. My body was seeping into an abyss of despair, where no hope remained.

Everyone clenched their eyes shut, some of us were left scarred, forever…

Kaito: "Haruto! Don't look at this!"

Haruto: "Noooooo! Kotori!!!" 

Droite: "Agh!!"

Cathy: "K-KOTORIIIII!"

Yuma: "STOOOOOOP! PLEASE LET HER GO!AAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Tetsuo: "NOOOOOO! MONOKUMA I WILL KILL YOU!"

Alito: "You…. Went too far… I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

Ryouga: "Monokuma crossed the line with this…!"

Durbe: "By great margin in my opinion!"

Anna: "*cries* I DON'T CARE IF I'LL LOSE MY LIFE NOW! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO KOTORI!"

Tokunosuke: "Ah-ah-Ah-ah! K-K-Kotori!"

Casewell: "We killed her! We all did the moment we cast our vote…! Kotori was so brave, yet, I can't even move a muscle!"

Vector: "Argh! I didn't expect this at all… I thought the 

execution was simply an electric chair used for death row inmates…! I didn't quite imagine Monokuma to be this sadistic and execute her like… _that._ "

Rio: "Everyone! Stop!"

Tetsuo: "R-Rio…"

Rio: "I know all of us are angry, even I cannot explain the extent of my hatred towards Monokuma, but we cannot risk our life now! Kotori fought and put her life on the line so we could survive!"

Tetsuo: "T-That's right... *sniffle* We have to live for Kotori… that's the least we could for both Michael and Kotori now…"

Anna: "Agh! *cries*"

Cathy: "We have to maintain Kotori's last wish… We won't die under Monokuma now!"

Alito: "But if we don't fight Monokuma, how are we supposed to survive!"

Mizael: "Monokuma had us right where he wanted, we cannot defeat Monokuma if we can't even defy him…"

Monokid: "WHAAAAAAAAH! Monodam went f*chinking psychooooo again!"

Monophanie: "This is deja vu all over again! BLRBLRBLRBLRBLR!"

Monosuke: "I feel like I've gone through this before, what is gut feeling?"

Monokuma: "Ah… this exquisite feeling of despair! Oh yes I am so energised now!"

Rio: "Do you hate us this much?"

Monokuma: "Puhuhu maybe yes or maybe not, who can sayyy."

Chris: "You got us this time, but I'll make sure to defeat both the mastermind and you!"

Monokuma: "Yeah yeah, keep saying that yourself. You guys are focusing too much into nonsense. Maybe you should watch your back a bit more, who knows who'll be the next killer."

Tetsuo: "Shut the hell up! There is no way in hell we're gonna have another killing game!"

Monokuma: "We'll see we'll see~"

And then one by one, the Monokubs left after another.

After this growing tension, everyone started to leave one by one...

...

...

And few remained behind, gazing at my pitiful composure...

Kaito: "Hey, Yuma..."

Ryouga: "Is it okay to just leave you here-"

Yuma: "Don't worry… I'll just stay here a little longer…"

There was a short pause there.

Ryouga: "If you... need anything, we're here for you."

Kaito also carried those same looks of sympathy, but... despite their support, I couldn't think of anything else... her brutal death... the image of blood gushing out, haunted my mind.

...

They stood there sternly and let out a desperate sigh... despite my request, they haven't left the room until something over a minute, keeping me 

And then, they also left the room.

Astral: "Yuma, why do you want to stay here-"

Yuma: "Leave me alone Astral…"

Astral looked at me puzzled, and after a few seconds, he nodded, and entered my key.

As I saw the stage she was executed in, her memories and words started flowing through my head…

...

_Yumaa! You overslept again!_

_Gosh… You are really an idiot..._

_You were the one stealing my lunch! So it was you all along!_

_*smack* Yuma! Get a hold of yourself! You can't be the first to give up!_

_Yuma! I believe in you! You won't leave here until he has lost the duel, clear?!_

_Yuma… It's no use giving up! Setting yourself limits, Yuma, that's not like you at all! Because everyone… because everyone is entrusted their hopes to you! So… So you will behave like yourself until the end, Yuma!_

_You guys better live!_

Yuma: "I don't know what to do anymore… but… I won't give up! I will try and try again! I will always keep your words within me… I would not let your deaths be in vain, I will use that courage that you gave me when you were alive until the very end!"

???: "Yep, that's right… that's our promise…"

???: "You can do it Yuma, I'll be your sword and your shield."

??? & ???: "Goodbye…"

…

…

* * *

  
  


END Chapter 1 - Rules of the Labyrinth 

Surviving members: 19

To be continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfrotunately I won't be updating anytime soon, I have to completelty focus on my exams.  
> But I'll try to do what I can, doing this chapter took me a lot of time to do
> 
> UPDATE: I am in the process of writing Chapter 2, hope you are tuned for it!
> 
> Chap 2 almost done ;)


	5. Chapter 2 - Part 1: Hubris Is Mankind's Deepest Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been away from this story for so loooong, and I have exams coming up in January and the most important ones too, but I have holidays so hopefully I'll be able to update quicker this time. You can see after reading that I rushed through the story, and it might not have tensions like the previous chapter or it's too fast-paced, I truly apologize for it. I just wanted to be done with this because it has past a long time since I updated.  
> You better not finish this in one day because it's LONG.  
> I truly hope you enjoy this chap

(I made a rough map of the first floor, you need it. Also this is a rough map, it can be updated anytime.)

**Chapter 2 - Part 1: Hubris is Mankind’s Deepest Despair**

…

…

Ding Dong Bing Bong

The morning announcement played out… I was in such a deep sleep that the sound of the announcement couldn’t shake my head at all.

I felt my eyelids getting heavier and a sudden numbness in my chest… I wanted to stay like that forever... wrapped in this warm blanket... staying firm in that position… and close my eyes…

and never open them ever again.

Astral: “Yuma!”

Yuma: “Argh!”

Astral: “Yuma! Wake up!”

Yuma: “A-Astral… what is it this time? Why are you screaming…? I want to sleep...”

Astral: “You are supposed to be in the Dining Hall with everyone having breakfast!”

Yuma: “I’ll pass…”

Astral: “You don’t want to have breakfast? I never thought I would ever see this day…”

Yuma: “I am not hungry...”

Astral: “Why not? You’re always hungry.”

Yuma: “I am just not feeling in the mood, okay?!”

Astral shut his mouth as he was taken back by my tone, and let out a heavy sigh.

There was a visibly pained expression across his face, but at the same time… he looked completely unfazed...

Astral: “Yuma… I know you’re in pain-”

Yuma: “If you know, then leave me alone!”

Astral: “Yuma… you can’t change what already happened.”

Yuma: “I know that already!”

My voice cracked in the sentence, and I felt my chest tighten again, bursting out to tears… the image of Michael’s and Kotori’s dead bodies, happening right before my eyes… how could I let that happen... How could I do that!

Astral: “Yuma… the way you’re acting… you cannot mull over things you don’t have control over. You have to move forward. You promised to Kotori.”

Yuma: “It’s not that simple! Monokuma has our decks and our Number cards, and he threw us in this death game! After everything we did! It didn’t leave a scratch on the mastermind! After what happened to Kotori and Michael… I don’t wanna lose anybody else, Astral!”

Astral: “That is more to reason why you should get on your feet, and work together with everyone as a team against Monokuma.”

Yuma: “...”

Astral: “Yuma! Don’t you get what I’m saying? The only way we can go through this is defeating the mastermind, get our cards back and get out of this place. After we get out, I can finally use the Numeron Code-”

At that moment... my eyes snapped open, and my whole body felt light at the utterance of that name… Numeron Code... 

Astral continued to speak on his plans, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying, it was as if the light of hope finally dawned on me… there is still a chance... that I could save everyone!

Yuma: “Astral! The Numeron Code!-”

Astral: “You finally woke up, Yuma.”

He said that with a contagious confident smile… I laughed as if I already had our hands on the Numeron Code, but it didn’t matter, I will try my hardest to defeat the mastermind and get our Numbers, that was the only thing for me to look forward to...

Numeron code… that grants any wishes, it is able to rewrite the past and future, was now my hope.

Ding dong ding dong

Together with Astral, we will save everyone.

Ding dong ding dong

We’ll get the mastermind and they’ll pay for what they did to my friends!

Ding dong ding… the bell in the door stopped making noise... * CRACK *

A figure forcefully kicked my door with their casual temper and their hands on the pocket with an irritated face written across the face.

Ryouga: “YUMA!”

Yuma: “SH-SHARK?! The door-!”

Ryouga: “Are your ears tapped or what?!”

Yuma: “That doesn’t give you permission to break through my door whenever you want!”

Astral: “The door frame wasn’t even that strong… this is bad Yuma, if any potential killer tried to enter your room, they would have had no problem.”

Yuma: “My door is broken! Now everyone can enter my room as they please!”

Ryouga: “You should have thought about that before you started ignoring my bells!”

Yuma: “Grrrrrr! Why are you even here in the first place?!”

Ryouga: “...Yuma. Stop it.”

Yuma: “What?...”

Ryouga: “You’re not the only one who lost someone yesterday. Michael and Kotori had more friends than just you, but everyone else other than you still took the effort to walk in the Dining Hall and eat. I used to act like you’re acting now when Rio was at the hospital… I refused to get out of my bed or even eat, I didn’t know how anything like that could ever happen to Rio, but you know who’s the enemy from the start! We need to make Monokuma and the mastermind pay! And this time, win! So get your ass up to the Dining Hall and eat!”

Yuma: “But... I…”

Ryouga: “Where did your “kattobingu” spirit go? You’re just looking pathetic right now!”

I clenched my hands and gritted my teeth, he had some nerves to call me “pathetic” when he was just the same as me at the beginning when I met him. Wait… is Shark trying to… 

Astral smiled again.

Astral: “I completely agree with Shark.”

Yuma: *sigh* “I got it I got it, I’ll get to the Dining Hall now...”

Ryouga: “Good. Now hurry up!”

I finally decided to get out of my pijama and got on my usual clothing, and as from instinct, I grabbed my box for my deck of cards, until I finally realised it was empty…

…

I will get them back no matter what! And then save everyone!

Ryouga: “You look like you’re thinking too hard about something.”

Yuma: “Huh? Oh, I was just… thinking of what we can do to beat Monokuma, that’s all.”

Astral: “Yuma, are you not telling Shark about me and the Numeron Code?”

Yuma: “You said you will keep watch over everybody, right? I trust Shark, but it’s better if we keep our eyes open and keep you a secret-”

Ryouga: “What was that?”

Yuma: “What was what?”

Ryouga: “I heard “Shark” while you were mumbling.”

Yuma: “ _You sure you didn’t hear me wrong?_ ”

Ryouga: “I heard what I heard! If you have something to say about me then say it to my face!”

Yuma: “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Why would I ever say your name while I am mumbling!?”

Astral: *sigh* “Yuma…”

Maaan, Shark almost catched me! How could he hear me from that distance?! If he can hear that far away, he certainly could hear all those gossips of him at school after he was disqualified from the Duel Champions, it must have been hard on him to have to hear all those bad rumours about him and not even being able to ignore them…

Astral: “Sometimes it’s best when you don’t have a wide hearing, isn’t it?”

Yuma: “Yeah…”

Astral: “However, it’s best to have a wide hearing in most cases, it helps you stay alert and focused all the time, and I am talking from experience at being by your side.”

Yuma: “Grrr! Are you implying I am not a good listener?!”

Astral: “Yes, you never hear me or your sister calling you trying to wake you up. You keep ignoring Mr.Kay’s and your math teacher’s lectures, you also ignore my dueling advice-”

Yuma: “That’s because my ears are soundproof to all the bad and unnecessary things that my brain doesn’t need to process! It processes only useful information!”

Astral: “I believe it’s quite the opposite, Yuma.”

Yuma: “HNNN I can’t heaaar youuu-”

Ryouga: “Who the hell are you talking to?! You’ve been mumbling all the way! Wait… don’t tell me Astral is here!…”

Yuma: “Well… uhh...”

Then Shark marched towards me and forcefully grabbed my shoulder and shook me like a maracas.

Ryouga: “Dumbass! Why didn't you tell us before?! He could have saved us!-”

Yuma: “You think Astral didn’t try a thousand times already? He can’t get out! And for some reason he became invisible to the others again and I am the only one able to see him.”

Ryouga: “Astral can’t get out?... Is it possible this place has an energy field barrier powerful enough to not let Astral pass through?”

* * *

_Kaito: “I agree. Also, I’ve been analysing the walls of the school for a while… it seems to be made of certain materials that only gives access to the person controlling it and not us, we are surrounded from every path, so we can’t use our deck to find a way out.”_

* * *

Ryouga: “I didn’t understand what he meant at the time, it was very subtle, but I remember Kaito saying something similar.”

Yuma: “If it’s true, then we must gotta do something.”

Ryouga: “More importantly, why did you hide that Astral was here with us? Did Kotori find out?”

Yuma: “Even though I did my best at trying to keep quiet about Astral, Kotori found out anyway. Since Monokuma’s announcement about the killing game, Astral told me not to tell anyone.”

Ryouga: “So Astral decided to watch over everyone and Monokuma to take advantage of his current situation, right? I figured.”

Yuma: “But it’s not like we didn’t trust you guys! It’s just…”

Ryouga: “No, this was the right thing to do, after what happened yesterday. It’s because we trusted Kotori too much that things ended up like that. To prevent something like that ever happening, we need to keep watch. If we really have a traitor working with the mastermind, we need to stay more alert than ever, to doubt everyone, and only after overcoming doubt, is when we can finally trust them.”

Yuma: “You’re not wrong, but… I don’t want to lie to my friends! Lying to them makes me untrustworthy.”

Ryouga: “But if you’re hiding Astral for a good reason, you’re protecting everyone. And who said about lying? You just need to make sure no one knows about him and make sure no one is around when talking to him.”

Yuma: * nod *

* * *

After a few minutes of walking, we finally reached the Dining Hall… as I stepped inside and made my way to the table, I could almost taste the gloomy atmosphere, a sense of numbness on their expressions.

No one exchanged any words or even had any eye contact with each other, they sat on their chairs, took their food and portions, and just got on with their eating. As per usual, the people that were working in Kaito's lab weren't here, however, Four was also missing from the Dining Hall, usually, it was him and Michael who came together to the Dining Hall to have breakfast. And… one more person seemed missing, but I couldn’t catch who it was...

A few minutes later, everyone’s faces turned towards me with a surprise across their faces.

Cathy: “Yuma…”

Tetsuo: “You’re late.”

Tetsuo said harshly, he had a frown on his face and didn’t even look me in the eye. He’s probably mad at me for yesterday’s trial, for not being able to save Kotori… I couldn’t save anyone! He has every right to be mad at me.

As quick as they noticed my presence, they immediately turned their attention away from me. Just as Tetsuo, Caswell and Tokunosuke also gazed away, well... I deserve it...

Astral: “Yuma…”

Alito: “You’re very late! We almost thought you decided to skip breakfast! Lucky Shark actually took the effort to fetch you from your Beauty Sleep. Look, I know that expression, and about yesterday…but, not eating won’t mourn their deaths! We need to work together to defeat Monokuma and the mastermind, for their sake! And show them how strong we are! So stop behaving like a weak person!”

Anna: “Hnnn I am with Alito! Monokuma and the mastermind have to pay for what they did, so I can’t just sit here and cry over spilt milk! So be strong Yuma!” 

Astral: “Do you see this Yuma? All of your friends are here to encourage you and support you through this journey, you’re not alone, you have great friends to borrow strength from, have hope in your friends, just as they entrusted their hopes in you.”

Astral… I understand.

Hope.

I need to have hope, and have in others. I won’t despair, I won’t let Monokuma have his way ever again. I felt my key in my palms again, and I hardened my palms as my fingers surrounded it, and took a deep breath. 

Yuma: “Are there… any rice balls left?”

Then everyone looked at me surprised again. Gilag, who sat next to me, passed me the plate with the rice balls on it from the automated table, and then he smiled at me.

Gilag: “Eat, fuel yourself to feel the flow again.”

Yuma: “Thank you.”

My stomach rumbled and I finally took a bite. 

And then a small furry figure suddenly popped up from Gilag’s shoulders and jumped on me! I almost fell off from my chair! 

Ponta: “HmMmMmMm, it’s delicious pon!”

Yuma: “Ponta?!”

Ponta: “I bet you’re going to ask me why I am trapped here in the school with all of you guys, right?”

Gilag: “Well, it’s kinda weird since I don’t remember you being on top of me while I was entering this school environment, infact, I don’t have any memory of that at all.”

Ryouga: “Ponta! You don’t happen to remember what happened before we came inside the school, do you?!”

Rio: “If you do, that would be really helpful information for knowing who we are really dealing with!”

Ponta: “Are you serious about not remembering anything?? The last thing I remember was that all of you guys were the last hope of Heartland City that entered the Tower to plan a counter attack to the riots! I was searching for Gilag everywhere, after exploring the Tower a bit I encountered Monokuma, and then we had a fight, but there were those other machines under his control so he was able to knock me out and I woke up tied up in that trial room. That stinky bear cheated! Monokuma is gonna pay for it next time! He even had the audacity to make fun of me about the fact that raccoons have the smelliest farts! Next time I am not gonna fart on his face and then we’ll see how he likes it!”

Right after, I almost thought someone teleported here, a half black and a white bear. The realisation hit me, and my anger and frustration started to boil again as I remembered what he did to two of our friends.

Monokuma: “If you do that then you’ll leave me no choice but to get serious! Raccoon farts are honestly the worst! My nostrils will probably explode from such a smelly gas, it might even ruin my circuits * sweats *”

Alito: “Ponta. Eat all the spice you want, just fill your tummy as much as you please!”

Monokuma: “No! No! My weakness has been revealed, nyeh even standing 6 meters apart from you is unbearable, my poor nose is too sensitive to fart machines! I guess I have to delay our re-match!”

Ponta: “Hey! Wait! You’re scared now that you’re on your own aren’t ya?! We’re going to settle this one day or another!”

Anna: “Now that’s some furry fight I’ve never ever seen before.”

Cathy: “You would be surprised.”

Durbe: “What do you mean by riots? And us being Heartland’s last hope and about us entering the Tower?”

Ponta: “It’s just as I said, I don’t have any more information to give, I forgot everything after I got knocked out.”

Mizael: “After getting knocked out by Monokuma? It’s most probable that Monkuma wiped your memory like the rest of us, and left all the information you remembered so far on purpose.”

Durbe: “So if this part of memory is purposefully left by Monokuma, does it mean it won’t be helpful to us at uncovering the mystery?”

Ponta: “Wait! So Monokuma took all my memories away and only left these j-just to confuse you guys? That bear!”

Anna: “What if Monokuma is just playing with us by giving us some sort of clues?”

Rio: “I am sure Monokuma wouldn’t tolerate such a slip up like that, so the fact that we’re hearing this, those memories might not be that helpful to our case. If we really entered the Tower, how come we are in this school environment that we never saw before?”

Vector: “ _I wouldn’t be so sure._ ”

A familiar voice ringed from the door. Vector made his way through the Dining Hall, and everyone looked at him in pure shock. Now that I think about it… one more person that wasn’t here was Vector! 

Ryouga: “Vector! You got some explaining to do for yesterday!”

Vector: “I don’t have any reason to give you any explanation, _Sharkie~_ . By the way _, thanks for backing up my alibi yesterday_.”

Ryouga: “Shut up!”

Yuma: “Shark! Calm down! We should hear what he has to say!”

Ryouga: “If we let this guy roam free any longer, there will be a second trial for sure! Yuma, can’t you see?! Guys like him will never change!”

Yuma: “You’re wrong, he proved it to us in the war in the Astral world, yeah sure, sometimes Vector acted like a jerk and went to do his own thing on his own, but that’s why we were able to lower the guard of our enemies and we were able to defeat them! In the end, we all worked together! We can do the same now.”

Vector: “Yeah, tell him Yuma!”

Ryouga: “Tch.”

These two… they are like cat and mouse, when will they have a break? I sighed and took a deep breath.

Astral: “Yuma, something doesn’t feel right.”

Yuma: “Huh?”

Astral: “Remember, yesterday in the trial it was revealed that Vector was speaking with Monokuma.”

Oh yeah! I can’t forget that… What kind of business Vector can ever have with Monokuma?.

Yuma: “Vector, what were you doing in the Dining Hall, why were you with Monokuma yesterday?”

Tetsuo: “And you acted hella strange in the trial too!”

Mizael: “Yesterday, didn’t you say you were going to end this killing game?”

Vector: “Now now, let’s forget about that and focus on what’s really important. I talked to Monokuma to make him spill the beans, and I got loads of info out of him without his knowledge.”

Durbe: “So how exactly was that going to end this killing game?”

Vector: “ _I repeat, let’s focus on what’s important_. Geez! The information Ponta gave you guys should not be taken lightly, afterall, Ponta said there is kind of a war between people in Heartland going out there.”

Ponta: “Wait! So Monokuma didn’t try to trick you guys through me or anything?!”

Vector: “From the information I squeezed out of Monokuma, it looks even worse than our Barian attack on Heartland.”

Tokunosuke: “W-Worse than _that_! No way!”

Caswell: “What do you mean a war is going on? Our family and friends are in danger?!”

Yuma: “No way...! It has to be a lie!”

Astral: “Yuma, keep your cool.”

Yuma: “B-but g-grandma, Akari, mom and dad…! They are all in danger!”

Anna: “If it’s true… What could’ve caused such a war? Why can’t I remember!? Dammit! Umimi...”

Vector: “Guess time!~ Who do you think caused such a big war and is masterminding from the shadows?”

Durbe: “The mastermind of this killing game…!”

Mizael: “HNN! So there was a reason we were all trapped here!”

Vector: “Ding ding ding, correct, it’s all their doing.”

Alito: “But if such a war happened, we were more likely to go to the Tower to plan a counter attack on our enemies, so it’s definately plausible…”

Tetsuo: “H-hold on! Heartland Tower has one of the highest Security Defense Systems! There is no way the mastermind could’ve abducted us while we were inside the Tower!”

Ryouga: “Well you can never say that for sure, can you?”

Monokubs: “Rise and shine, ursine!”

Yuma: "Huh! What are you kubs doing here?!"

Monotaro: “Geez! Did no one teach you some manners?! Is this a proper way to greet someone after all the effort we took to give you these presents!?”

Monosuke: “Why don’t we teach them some manners with our Exisals then?”

Monodam: “I’VE-WAITED-FOR-AN-OPPORTUNITY-TO-USE-THE-EXISALS”

Monophanie: “M-Monodam, m-maybe you shouldn’t pilot an Exisal for now-”

Monodam: “WHAT-DID-YOU-JUST-SAY.”

Monophanie: “Aaahhh I don't want to meet the same fate as Monokid!”

Monodam: “THAT-WAS-AN-ACCIDENT.”

Monosuke: “Accident or not that punkass jerk finally got smashed out from our family tree.”

Monotaro: “This is so sad, our little brother got completely squashed by that girl. We should all hold a Coffin Dance with Monokid’s remains!”

Monophanie: “No no, we should do what father told us to do first! We have some lovely presents for all of you for working so hard in the last trial!”

Durbe: “Presents?...”

Yuma: “You think just giving us stupid presents will-!”

Astral: “Yuma, we should see what they have in store for us first.”

Yuma: “I- fine.”

Monosuke: “What were you saying again, _punk?_ "

Yuma: “Grrrr.”

Monophanie: “Shall we finally show it to them?!”

And then they swiftly took out cards behind them from nowhere...

Monokubs: “Ta daaaaa! Keys to open to a new area!”

Tetsuo: “W-wait! Those are cards!”

Tokunosuke: “How is this supposed to be used as a key?!”

Alito: "Are you still playing around with us?!"

Monosuke: "Ha! You guys are surely stupid! As you can see this is from a “Keys and locks'' archetype deck. These cards are used to open specific doors, and it can be only used with one door in each floor, and now use your tiny little brains to open up new areas and the third floor if ya can.”

Monophanie: “There’s another surprise in store for you guys. There’s the hint! Since you can open only one door per floor with these, what about the other locked doors on the same floor? Find out for yourselves!”

Then all of the Monokubs left.

Cathy: “W-What are we supposed to do with these?”

Caswell: “Each of the cards’ designs are different from each other, the only thing they have in common is they are Monsters, their ATK points and all of them are keys!”

Rio: “Then let’s look at what’s different!”

Ryouga: “The Attributes are all different from each other.”

Mizael: “Dark, Divine, Earth, Fire, Light, Water, Wind. There are all of them.”

Durbe: “I think we need to match these cards to an appropriate door.”

Tokunosuke: “But we don’t know where we have to use them!”

Anna: “Easy peasy! We already walked around this school and know which area is restricted, when we find it, we just gotta use the right card, or a key I suppose.”

Tokunosuke: “But there were only one or two areas restricted!”

Alito: “Then the door we need to open using one of the keys must be in those areas! Let’s get going then!”

Yuma: “Wait, but what about the others?”

Gilag: “It’s their fault they haven’t joined us in the Dining Hall, then we shall go then!”

Tetsuo: “Alright! Then let’s go! Oh! And Yuma, hold these cards for us.”

Yuma: “M-Me? Alright!”

Caswell: “Wait?! Why Yuma! He’s so irresponsible and lost his deck so many times!”

Tetsuo: “Even if he lost his deck, his luck always guided him to it, plus, he’s the only one who’s carrying his empty deck box, he can put them in there.”

Caswell: “F-Fine! But Yuma, why did you bother to bring the empty box, no one brought it because it’s not like we’re getting our cards anytime soon...”

Yuma: “Uh, no reason! I just... can’t let it go, so I thought to carry it with me...”

Even if I can’t get the deck back, I need to be able to retrieve the Number cards as soon as possible, and then using that we can finally revive Kotori and Michael and fix everything!

Alito: “Let’s go then!”

* * *

And then we all started to march together to one of the areas that we remember to be restricted, it has to be one of the doors from the “Main Hall''! It led to six different paths, Kotori and I tried to open some of the doors, but it didn’t work... this time it should work with one of the keys.

Astral: “Isn’t Kaito’s Research Lab just across that corridor? Maybe we should take this opportunity to let them know about these cards.”

Yuma: “It’s better if we don’t disturb him, he must be working hard to try to end this killing game, IV said how hard they were working, before Michael got killed…”

Ryouga: “Yuma, you’re too loud.”

Yuma: “Ah! Sorry…”

Tetsuo: "I think it's the door over there, when I first walked in the Main Hall this door wouldn’t budge.”

Durbe’s hands palms went across the door that Tetsuo pointed at... and it opened at the touch!

Durbe: “This door seems to have opened easily this time…”

Tetsuo: “Wait, what?!”

Rio: “Are you sure this door was locked Tetsuo?”

Tetsuo: “I-I am 100% sure! This door wouldn’t open!”

Yuma: “It didn’t open for me either the first time!”

Mizael: “This must be the surprise that Monophanie mascot was talking about, all of the doors in this and the second floor must have opened as a prize for returning from the trial alive.”

Anna: "Aaaalright! Let's go inside!"

We immediately entered what seemed like another corridor. After a few minutes, we found ourselves a room at our right at the end of the corridor. The door to that room had a glass window in between and we could see what was inside. 

Astral: “A school infirmary.”

Tetsuo: “Monokuma really played us, we wouldn’t even have access to the infirmary if we hurt ourselves.”

Durbe: “And we have access to it now only because it opened itself after our hard work in the trial.”

Caswell: “It’s not like I am happy about it at all, since two of our friends are gone… But at least now I don’t have to worry about getting infections…”

Tokunosuke: “Hehe, I doubt you would be able to treat yourself anyway, I wouldn’t count too much on it.”

Caswell: “H-Hey!”

Cathy: “Anyway, we got to first find the door we’re looking for so hurry.”

Anna: “The door at the end of the corridor must be another normal door.”

And then Anna charged on the door and it opened without any struggle.

Anna: “See?”

Gilag: “We reached another curved hallway again!”

Mizael: “Why are you so surprised? Haven’t you noticed? This maze of a school is a big circle.”

Gilag: “A-A circle?!”

Rio: “Guys! Look, there is a staircase behind the gate.”

Cathy: “I passed from this hallway to get to the garden, this staircase is identical to the other one that leads to the second floor, but this one was behind this huge gate.”

Durbe: "This must be an Emergency staircase…"

Mizael: "What is its purpose when we have stairs at the other side that exactly conducts to the same place."

Rio: "An Emergency staircase's purpose is to have a second route to be able to evacuate people in case of emergency. It might look identical to the staircase we used to get to the second floor. But if that one is damaged, students can use this instead.”

Tokunosuke: "But isn't it weird that an Emergency staircase exists when we are completely trapped here?"

Droite: "I don't think it's weird at all, with there being two staircases, a potential culprit has multiple routes to take without being ever considered suspicious. Monkuma doesn’t abide by rules, everything here is designed to give us an advantage to get away at murdering someone."

Tokunosuke: "HHNNN I-It's that scary lady!"

Yuma: "D-Droite!"

Rio: “I agree, Monokuma purposefully made this with a sole purpose to make us participate in this death game, this place is very dangerous.”

Astral: "Yuma, look at the colour of this gate, completely matches with the fire attribute key."

Yuma: "Wait! Are you saying I need to burn the door?!"

Rio: "I never said that! What are you talking about?"

Yuma: "Uh wait, I wasn't-"

Vector: "The colour completely matches with the fire attribute key, c'mon this is just an Augmented Reality, don't tell you're afraid of a little projection of a fire, or you're afraid the fire becomes real and it fuels itself by starting to burn everything around you, _Rio_."

Rio: "Shut your mouth Vector, next time I'll throw you in a blaze, let's see how you'll like it."

Vector: "I am afraid the rules of this land are against you profiting anything from such pointless action."

Mizael: "Enough with the chatter you two! Yuma, summon the key and let's find out what is beyond this door."

Yuma: "Sure."

We wore our D-Gazer initiating the AR vision, and then I finally summoned the key. The key on my hand started blazing, and I as a reflex immediately threw it on the gate. The gate started to burn and then it disappeared into shimmers, as a hologram in Augmented Reality would… but after I took off my D-Gazer, the door disappeared in real life too!

Astral: "Those cards seem powerful, Yuma. I wonder how many doors and paths it will open ahead our journey."

Yuma: *nod*

Droite: "I assume those are given from the Monokubs to open possible new areas."

Rio: "Yes, and we also learned new information about what happened before we came here. You guys missed a lot."

Droite: "I see, but we can talk about it later, we have some important news to share, it’s about a tunnel of the underground passage that leads directly to the Heartland Tower shelter."

Yuma: “A-A tunnel…!”

Ryouga: “Even if we manage to escape, the mastermind held our decks hostage, and we can’t leave the power of the Number cards in the hands of the mastermind otherwise the whole universe will be in danger.”

Droite: “I wondered… if the mastermind really had all of the Number cards, why didn’t they already use it?... Can it be they don’t know how to use it?”

Durbe: “Maybe the Number cards and the Numeron code are truly in Astral’s hands in the Astral world…”

Yuma: “Uh hey didn’t Droite there is a tunnel for us to escape from? Once we find Astral outside, we’re going to fix everything!”

Astral: “Huh!”

Ryouga: “Yuma…”

Yuma: *nod* “Right Shark?”

Yes, I want everyone to escape, I am going to stay here and challenge the mastermind into a duel and get my friends’ decks back and our Number cards!

Haruto: “Follow me!”

Haruto suddenly appeared before us. Droite then immediately followed him, this was followed by the entire lab team following them. After a few minutes, we finally started to follow the pack. 

Haruto: “Everyone! Follow me! I know where the tunnel is!”

After we ran for a few minutes, we reached a remote corner of this artificial garden. Seriously, what the heck is this place! We were surrounded by walls full of beanstalk, and they were entangled with electrical wires and devices connected to a round door above us, it almost looked like the portal Kaito and Chris made! 

We finally stopped. Next to the door was a detector in the shape of a card, a light was emanated from it. It's likely that we need a keycard, but we don’t have one right now!

Just as everyone started to look puzzled, Haruto took out something small from his pocket, it looked like… a remote! And just as he gently pressed it, the door started to open itself…

We finally made our way inside this room, it did not look like a tunnel underground at all... it looked like a completely separate room in the garden, not some secret underground passage. The room had a dark blue surface and the walls emanated a shiny light, it looked the same as the walls of Tower. Ahead of us there was the same door as we entered, but it looked as if it was shielded by a network of light, an energy barrier, completely embraced with the door. We knew the tunnel they were talking about has to be beyond this door.

Haruto pressed the remote again, the network of light disappeared, but the door wouldn’t budge. 

Haruto: “Huh?!”

He pressed it again. Nothing moved.

Kaito: “I suspected this would happen.”

Chris: “The mastermind thought of our every move, it’s quite irritating-”

And then suddenly, a rambling sound vibrated the entire room, the sound continued to echo for a few seconds, and dust fell off from the door as it slowly started to move.

Yuma: “It opened!”

Anna: “T-This means we can finally reach the shelter, right?!”

Tokunosuke: “Then what are we waiting for?!”

Mizael: “Is this… really ok?”

Durbe: “Huh?”

Droite: “I also feel something doesn’t add up. The way we entered through the door so easily...”

Kaito: “Are you saying this might be just a trap?”

Tron: “A trap you say...”

Tetsuo: “There is no way to know that other than seeing it for ourselves! We should at least try!”

Rio: “But Tetsuo, we don’t know what’s inside this tunnel, there might be deadly obstacles awaiting us, and until we can make sure our lives won’t be in danger, we can’t act so reckless.”

Ryouga: “First of all, how did you guys know this tunnel is directly connected to the shelter? Shouldn’t you also be able to know if there are traps inside?”

Kaito: “Haruto was the first one to find this door in the garden, after we analysed and researched where this door conducts to, we were able to detect our position, although it’s not clear where we are exactly, but me and Chris were able to create an internal planar map of 500m in diameter at least, and it reaches the Heartland Tower’s shelter.”

Thomas: “A planar map of 500m… hmm that’s not too far.”

Tron: “The mastermind limited our ability to be able to create anything that could hinder their plans, so we had to do the best we could from what it was given.”

Droite: “And this tunnel does contain traps but they are avoidable if we work hard and work together.”

Ryouga: “So what’s the problem?”

Droite: “We are in too many, we can’t control and watch over each of us… and I don’t think that our mastermind will make give us a free chance to escape like that, this might a farce pretence of underestimating us, but they have just rigged this tunnel and made it impossible from the start and give us false hope. There is a chance that Monokuma and the mastermind can cut us through once we are near the shelter.”

Wait, Monokuma and the Monokubs will be there? In that case I can use this tunnel to reach the shelter with everyone and then challenge him once we reach there.

Vector: “Even though this might be just a trap from the mastermind or whatever, I am down to try.”

Yuma: “Huh?!”

Vector: “Don’t you say so Yuma? “To not give up until your last card”, I think the same thing should apply now.”

Alito: “Your attitude changed from 0 to 180 real fast, this is totally sus.”

Vector: “C'mon, I would never lie to Yuma, _I am a new Vector now_.”

Ryouga: “Can we just go inside the tunnel for Numeron’s sake!”

We then finally entered the tunnel, it became so dark I couldn’t see my own feet. We marched on ahead and then I felt my feet pressing against the floor, darn it!

Astral: “Yuma watch out!”

Yuma: “AAAAHHH!”

The floor above me opened in half and a flame came out from underneath, I stepped back and fell on the ground from shock. The flame went back in again and then came back only after a few seconds! I can’t run to the otherside that fast!

Ryouga: “Darn it, now we have to deal with this.”

Rio: “This time we need to see the intervals and then go-”

Cathy: “Leave it to me!”

Cathy skipped everyone and jumped high just like a feline would, completely at ease. The flame barely reached her. Then, she landed on the other side on her feet. 

This was followed by Droite, who jumped even higher, the flame’s size seemed to have gotten a bit bigger too! However, Droite was completely untouched by the flame and perfectly landed on her heels.

Droite: “Careful! The flame is getting bigger each second, I think it will go back to normal after a few minutes, so jump only if you are confident enough to jump at that height. Also, don’t wait for the flame to go back in, you need to see how high the flame reaches so you know how high you need to jump!”

Anna: “Piece of cake! I am charging in!”

Yuma: “A-Anna you have to wait!”

Anna: “HYEAH!”

Anna sprinted her legs and jumped up high, but the flame’s size got massive! It got her boots! She moved frantically in the air and landed her whole body on the ground, that Anna...! Geez why does she have to be so reckless! At least she’s safe on the other side now...

Anna: “Ouch ouch ouch!”

Cathy: “That’s what you get for not listening.”

Anna: “Shut up!”

Astral: “You know it’s bad when someone ends up being more reckless than you.”

Yuma: “Be quiet will you.”

Astral: “Oh my, but I am stating facts. *giggle*”

Yuma: “Hnnnnnn!”

And then one by one, Kaito, Shark, Rio, me, all the other ex Barian Emperors and the Arclight family safely come to the other side. 

Astral: “You know, getting the timing wrong and your pants almost being burned can’t be defined as “safe”, and that certainly wasn’t a graceful landing either.”

Yuma: “Can you just not-...”

Caswell: “I hope the size of the flame got smaller…”

Tokunosuke: “I still can't jump that high! Hhnnnn now I wish I didn't cut my gym classes!”

Tetsuo: “I thought since you were stealthy, jumping that high wouldn’t have been a problem.”

Tokunosuke: “At my height I can’t! I use other objects nearby to lift myself up!”

Haruto: “It’s fine, then I’ll do it!”

Kaito: “Haruto, watch out!”

Haruto: *nod* “I’ll be fine big brother, HYEAH!”

Haruto sprinted his legs and reached really high too! He perfectly landed before stumbling a bit.

Caswell: “A-Alright… guess it’s my turn… here I come…”

Caswell positioned himself and jumped up like an aeroplane! 

Tetsuo: “No matter what, don’t look down!”

Caswell: “Don’t look down?…”

Caswell repeated his words and then turned his gaze down as the flame was about to reach him.

Caswell: “AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!”

He struggled frantically and sprinted his arms up and down like a bird and reached our side…

Tetsuo: “That idiot… Tokunosuke, do you want to go?”

Tokunosuke: “I…”

He looked hesitant, but then he nodded. He stepped back, positioned himself to run and then sprint, but he wasn’t high enough! 

Caswell: “Tokunosuke!!”

Tetsuo didn’t wait a second to take a sprint and was able to reach Tokunosuke and hold him by his arm on time, both of them reached us. 

Tetsuo: “You should have told me you didn’t feel confident! I could have taken you with me!”

Tokunosuke: “Sorry… I thought I would have been able to do it…”

Rio: “This is only the first obstacle, I wonder how many others are laid before us.”

Thomas: “I don’t have a good feeling about this…”

As we faced the first challenge, there were many more ahead of us. Iron cages hanging at the ceiling and falling at the top of our heads. Huge gaps between two floors, darkness, sometimes I felt numb and and I was collapsing with the tunnel itself.

It was difficult, almost impossible, everyone looked so tired, some of us even got injured. However, at the end of the tunnel we saw the light.

But as we stepped in… the room we reached looked more and more identical to the room we just left…

Chris: “What is the meaning of this?!”

Tetsuo: “A-After all the struggle, we just came back here?!”

Anna: “No way!”

Caswell: “I-Isn’t there a simple explanation? We are at the end of the tunnel, and it happens to be similar from the room we left, right?”

Thomas: “It would be impossible to come back to the same room we left! Afterall, we always walked in a straight direction!”

Mizael: “Kaito! Where is the shelter you saw in the map?!”

Droite: “I told you, this was a trap, just to give us false hope.”

Kaito: “But I don’t understand, I am positive this tunnel was directly connected to the shelter!” 

Haruto: “Then why are we back here?”

Droite: “If you remember, sometimes we felt numb, or like we were about to fall, right?”

Anna: “Yeah… I even tripped over sometimes!”

Cathy: “Liar! You tripped over Yuma on purpose!” *hiss*

Ryouga: “How is this connected to the reason we are back here?”

Droite: “The reason we all felt like that was... probably because the floor was moving with us.”

Yuma: “The floor was moving?...”

Astral: “Yuma! Why haven’t you told me that?”

Yuma: “Huh?...”

Astral: “I didn’t couldn’t feel anything because I am always floating… But you felt it.”

Yuma: “But I-I don’t understand, “floor moving with us”? What does this mean?”

Kaito: “It means that the mastermind reversed the entire tunnel’s direction!”

Everyone’s eyes shot narrow, in a state of shock, completely speechless….this was… all for nothing? All the struggle we went through inside the tunnel, was all in vain?...

Monokuma: “Yep yep, I guess you guys all figured it out, puhuhuhuhu.”

Monokubs: “Rise and shine ursine!”

Monosuke: “Look at these sad maggots, awww they look like they about to burst to tears.”

Monotaro: “You shouldn’t bully someone when they’re crying Monosuke.”

Monophanie: “But bullying when people are crying is the same as bullying someone while they are not crying, since both of the actions involve bullying.”

Monotaro: “Oh yeahhhh, what’s the difference?”

Monosuke: “Double the bully, triple the better.”

Vector: “I don’t even have the energy to react to this anymore… I am left speechless.”

Alito: “Coming from you is serious.”

Monosuke: “No no! Stop ruining this sombre atmosphere! This scent of gloom, a truly familiar aroma for Monodam.”

Monodam: “WHAT-DID-YOU-SAY.”

Monophanie: “M-Monosuke, you shouldn’t talk to Monodam like that.”

Monotaro: “I-I wouldn’t if I were y-you.”

Monosuke: “Ha! Are you afraid I’ll end up like our little punkass did? Don’t make me laugh! Didn’t Monodam say it was just an accident? He wouldn’t even dare to lay a finger on me!”

Monotaro: “You know… maybe you are right! We were afraid for no reason!”

Monokuma: “My Monokubs are not going along together! Y-You guys are not bullies are you?! My reputation as a Headmaster will start to crumble once my colleagues get a gist of this and starts with their gossipping about my bad cubs! You don’t want your father to look like a fool do you?!”

Monodam: “NO-FATHER,WE-ALL-GET-ALONG.”

Monokuma: “Thank goodness gracious! Oh well there’s nothing to worry about! There is always some tough love between siblings.”

Mizael: “I am getting sick of this.”

Tokunosuke: “These stupid bears really can’t read the air!”

Monokuma: “First, don’t call me a “bear”! I am the Headmaster of this Academy so I am deserving of a proper address which is Mo-no-ku-ma! And secondly, are ya done with your escape plan? As I said, as long as you are in my regime, I control the life and death of each and every single one of you! With that said, I hope tomorrow you guys are more enthusiastic and work hard for the killing game!”

Monokubs: “So long! Bear-well!”

And then one by one each of them disappeared.

Cathy: “We are under the full control of the paws of the evil Monokuma again…”

Anna: “And I truly believed we would escape too! I thought I would find Umimi and Tobio at the shelter…”

Rio: “The mastermind still has our decks and Number cards, it’s as if they’re almost holding them hostage. It’s just as Droite said, this was their trap, to show that it’s impossible to escape.”

Vector: “Wrong, Monokuma wanted to show there is a way to escape where we get, not all, but most of the benefactors, such as our deck, family and freedom.”

Caswell: “In other words, to participate in the k-killing game?!”

Yuma: “We won’t do that!”

Vector: “Huh?”

Yuma: “We won’t sacrifice each other anymore! I won’t let that happen ever again!”

Vector: “I knew you would say that, but I never said about sacrifice.”

Yuma: “Ah-!”

Ryouga: “But you implied it.”

Vector: “Miscommunication and Misunderstandings are sure dangerous these days, but you’re free to think however you want. Anyway, gotta go to treat my injury in the infirmary, I would advise you to do the same.”

Vector quickly left from our sight, and soon everyone walked off of this area, including me. Vector totally caught me off guard just now, why is he doing this?...

Astral: “Watch your step Yuma, I wonder what Vector's intentions are, he similarly acted the same way in the trial.”

Yuma: “I don’t know Astral… I mean he kinda did the same thing in the Astral world, I still want to be able to trust him.”

Astral: “But please stay alert at all times.”

Yuma: “I will.”

* * *

I soon entered the building and searched for the school infirmary. 

As I reached for the door, from the glass I could see Kaito treating Haruto’s bruise in the kneecap, Anna treating her elbow, Vector wrapping his hand with a bandage. Then I made my way inside.

Anna: "I am so grateful we were able to find the school infirmary, it’s so useful, I got a cut on my elbow from checking the tools on my Research Lab, now I don't have to wrap my elbow pad around the cut!"

Vector: "I thought that was just your attire… but you were covering the wound?"

Anna: "Since when did you ever see me wearing an elbow pad?"

Vector: "Your clothes are very sporty, so I automatically thought you always had it…"

Yuma: "Same, I didn't even notice!"

Anna: "Really? So it is true… my sister Umimi used to say ‘Don't bother to waste time searching for the right shoes on your first date, unless you're dating a fashion expert.’ guys really never notice anything."

Yuma: "Now that you mention it, I don't remember how anyone's shoes look like…"

Anna: "EEEH! YOU'VE BEEN ON A DATE BEFORE?"

Yuma: "You got it wrong! I meant my friends!"

Vector: "Although you're at risk of getting infection, it was clever of you to cover your wound with something that matches with your style of clothing, I'll give you that."

Haruto: "You used to do that all the time too, right big brother?"

Kaito: "You knew?"

Haruto: "I never saw you without your jacket or your glove off even if you weren't hunting, and I remember almost everything I saw after I regained consciousness and was able to walk."

Kaito: "Haha, nothing escapes from you."

Anna: "Wow, you're a clever kid, I wish I was half as smart in your age, only now I notice how my sister used to patronise me all the time."

Yuma: "You guys are lucky, because my sister still does." *sigh*

Astral: “Well, I don’t blame her.”

Yuma: “You-”

Vector: "Yuma, you still haven't started treating your wound.”

Yuma: “Oh- right.”

And then he threw me a bottle of disinfectant. I finally opened the lid and used a cotton to gently press on the cut.

Yuma: “T-Thank you.”

It felt a bit strange doing this on my own, usually after a duel Kotori used to treat my bruises and wounds and scold me all the time for not being able to stay still, I used to complain all the time, she took ages... I shouldn’t have taken it for granted… 

Astral: “Yuma, you’re not doing it the way I saw Kotori doing it, you need to be more gentle at pressing, and not just rub the wound.”

Yuma: “Y-Yeah you’re right!”

Haruto: “I remember more people being injured other than us, where is everyone?”

Kaito: “They probably went to explore the third floor of this building, the Emergency stairs should lead to it.”

Vector: “I should probably go too.”

Then he finished wrapping around the bandage and got up from his chair.

Kaito: “Vector, what did you find from Monokuma about this place from your conversation yesterday?”

Kaito asked with his usual straight face, but I could feel the tenseness in his tone, it didn’t feel like a question, but a straight order.

Vector: “Same as whatever you probably found in your Research lab with your team, it’s safe to say we might have reached the same conclusion and… the dead-end.”

Kaito: “I see…”

There was no eye contact between the two during the conversation, Vector quickly left the infirmary before I could even ask my questions.

Yuma: “K-Kaito, what does this mean-”

Kaito: “It’s not important for now, you’ll find it soon enough anyway.”

Yuma: “That’s what everyone said before the first trial began! The more we keep things away from each other, the more the worst things keep happening, we need to be straight forward.”

Kaito: “No, we don’t. And now, I have to go.”

Haruto: “I am sorry Yuma, but I am with big brother this time…”

Then Kaito and Haruto also left this area, and probably went to the third floor.”

Yuma: “We should too.”

Anna: “Yeah… I wonder why they are being so secretive, maybe they think it will protect us, but I don’t understand how keeping secrets might be protecting someone…”

Now that I think about it… I am doing the same thing by hiding Astral!

Yuma: “Ah- Um, a-anyway, we should go, everyone is there.”

Anna: “By the way, don’t you think Vector is acting strange lately?”

Yuma: “I think he’s acting like his usual self…”

Anna: “In school he’s more cheerful and bright, and I don’t understand why he switched from “Shingetsu” to “Vector” once we got here. And almost every ex Barian Emperors, including Tetsuo, Caswell and Tokunosuke seem to be hostile towards him, I thought you guys were all friends, maybe except Shark.”

Tetsuo, Caswell, Tokunosuke and Cathy happened to see that duel after all, and the past with the Barian Emperors is not up for debate right now...

Anna: “I heard that he was one of the ex Barian Emperors that we were fighting against once they attacked the Earth, do you think that’s his true self?”

Yuma: “E-Everything is the past now, and everyone has changed! There is no reason to bring it up now.”

Anna: “Yeah… you’re right. We shouldn’t judge someone from their past actions.”

* * *

We finally got out of the infirmary and got on the stairs. After a few minutes of walking, we soon joined the others.

Tetsuo: “Yuma, come here! Look!”

Yuma: “What is it? You seem so excited.”

Tetsuo: “This is my Research Lab!” 

As expected, the room was huge with lots of cool machines around, it was almost similar to Anna’s Research Lab. At the corner of the room there were huge moving gears with a roaring sound, it almost looked like Astral’s Airship! There were many designs and prototypes of other mechanical parts, Tetsuo’s talent was amazing!”

Yuma: “Whoa!”

Tetsuo: “You’re speechless, right? Haha finally I can put my hands back to work.”

Yuma: “Did you explore this whole floor?”

Tetsuo: “Yeah I did, and apparently there are many closed doors on both the second and third floors, Monokuma only opened every single door for the first floor. ”

Yuma: “What?!”

Tetsuo: “I know it’s really strange. Plus, before we opened the gate, you couldn't use the normal stairs to reach the third floor, but now you can."

Yuma: "I see…"

Astral: "I wonder the purpose of these actions…"

Yuma: "Same, if Monokuma has a plan I have to prevent it!"

And then, I heard a loud sound of running footsteps coming towards me, calling my name.

Casewell: "YUMAAA!"

Yuma: "Ca-Caswell!"

Casewell: "Yuma! You need to call the others! Now!"

Yuma: "First tell me what happened!"

Caswell looked around him, and then got closer to me and whispered.

Caswell: "The Monokubs accidently dropped a key that can open the box containing our decks, I heard them saying it."

My eyes completely shot narrow, I couldn't believe it! This must be a miracle!

Yuma: "W-Where is it?!-"

Caswell: "Shhh, Tokunosuke has it with him in his Research Lab. We hid in a box."

Yuma: "But Monokuma has Security Cameras! He knows!"

Caswell: "If he did then wouldn't he be here already? So there is still a chance! That's why I am telling you to call everybody!"

Yuma: “Got it!”

Caswell: “Tell everyone to come to Tokunosuke’s Research Lab, it’s straight on the left and then-”

Yuma: “I am sure I’ll find it since the others probably explored this entire floor.”

I ran as fast as I could, getting our decks back will save everyone from these chains of despair! And I can finally revive my two friends back!

Yuma: “Everyone! Can you hear me?!”

Gilag: “Y-Yuma.”

Ponta: “Yuma?”

Yuma: “Gilag! Ponta! You have to go to Tokunosuke’s Research Lab! Now!”

Gilag: “Wait! Did someone die?!-”

Yuma: “N-No, it’s nothing like that but it’s really important!”

Gilag: *nod*

Yuma: “Wait, do you know where the others are?”

Gilag: “In the school infirmary.”

Yuma: “Of course… Anyway, thank you! Also make sure to tell everyone on this floor to go there! And I’ll see you there!”

I sprinted my legs towards the stairs and rushed my way to the infirmary which was packed of people. And luckily everyone seemed to be done at treating their wounds.

Yuma: “Everyone! I have something important to tell you, come to the third floor! And don’t worry, it’s good news!”

And then everyone nodded and followed me back upstairs. 

Yuma: “Astral, can you tell me where his Research Lab is?”

Astral: “Far to the left, then to the right, and then right again.”

Yuma: “Got it!”

I followed his directions just the way he indicated to me, and finally we finally reached the Research Lab.

Cathy: “Wait, isn’t this Tokunosuke’s Research Lab?”

Rio: “So this is his Research Lab…”

Alito: “It sure seems to be. So why did you bring us here Yuma?”

Yuma: “Caswell, I think you should tell everyone!”

Caswell: “W-Wait, I can’t find it, and where did Tokunosuke go?”

Tetsuo: “You can’t find what?”

Caswell: “One of the Monokubs accidently dropped the key that opens the box that contains all of out cards!”

Everyone looked shocked.

Droite: “Hey, did you say it opens the box containing our cards?”

Tron: “AND YOU CAN’T FIND IT?!”

Thomas: “So we were brought here for nothing.”

Mizael: “This is super important! Search thoroughly everywhere!”

Caswell: “I-I am trying, it was supposed to be here!”

Kaito: “This is bad, if you can’t find it, this probably means…”

Chris: “The Monokubs or Monokuma retrieved it already.”

Caswell: “No!”

And a moment later we all felt a rushing light footsteps coming inside the lab.

Tokunosuke: *pants*

Caswell: “Tokunosuke, where is the key?!”

Tokunosuke: “I-I-I-”

Caswell: “So?”

Tokunosuke: “I- lost it.”

Thomas: “Tch.”

Caswell: “W-What do you mean you lost it?”

Tetsuo: “I am sure it’s somewhere on this floor, it’s almost nighttime, so we’ll look for it tomorrow.”

Rio: “I agree, we don’t need to fret over it now.”

And with that said, one by one people started to go out of the room… the only people who remained were me, Astral, Caswell and Tokunosuke.

Tokunosuke: “Caswell I-”

Caswell: “You dirty fraud! You stole it didn’t you!”

Tokunosuke: “Why would I-”

Caswell: “So everyone will think you found it to gain the little respect you never deserved!”

Yuma: “Ca-Caswell-”

Caswell: “And you wonder why never had friends?! A thief like you could never have real friends! And never will!”

Tokunosuke: “Ah-”

Tokunosuke slowly stepped back and fell on the floor, his body started to tremble and he couldn’t get a word out. He quickly got up, getting out of the room.

Yuma: “T-Tokunosuke!-”

Caswell: “Leave him Yuma!

I could see he was really hurt from his tone, I know because I duelled with him, and know how sensitive this topic is to Tokunosuke, this time Caswell cut him deep… how could he say that? They are supposed to be best friends! 

Yuma: “How could you say that to him?”

Caswell: “Do you have any idea of how much Michael and Kotori suffered?! How much everyone is suffering right now?!”

Yuma: “Ah-”

Caswell: “We could have finally had a chance to get out… We finally could have beat Monokuma and escaped and see our family and friends again. But Tokunosuke screwed it up from his own trickery!”

Yuma: “That is no excuse for what you just did to him. Because-”

Caswell: “It’s almost nighttime Yuma. I am gonna go back to my room. You should do the same.”

Caswell left without another word.

Astral: “Yuma, it’s better if you don’t argue any longer. It’s best if we go back.”

Yuma: “Yeah…”

I finally exited the lab and closed the door behind me. I went to the first floor, and on my way I saw Shark getting out of his Research Lab, the Ultimate Lifeguard Research Lab, next to the swimming pool. 

Astral: “This reminds me… we still have another problem.”

Yuma: “And what is it this time…”

Astral: “Your door is broken.”

At that moment, I felt like an old memory was taken out of my brain and just added back in. I speedrun my way towards Shark.

Yuma: “How am I supposed to sleep in my room tonight after you broke my door!”

Ryouga: “Calm down, I can offer my room for one night if you’re so scared.”

Yuma: “Your room?”

Ryouga: “I meant I can offer you to sleep on the floor of my room for one night.”

Yuma: “T-The floor? The floor!”

Ryouga: “Then sleep in your room with your broken door then.”

Yuma: “Grrrr! You better fix my door now!”

Ryouga: “It wouldn’t be broken if you responded to my bells immediately!”

Shark tried to run away to the dormitory and lock himself in his room, but I soon catched up with him.

Ryouga: “Leave me alone!”

Yuma: “I won’t get off of you until you do something for my door!”

Ryouga: “Fine! I’ll let you sleep on my bed then! But only for one night! If it ends up like that sleep over party where you took all my blanket away and you dared to put your leg on top of me, I am going to kick you out of the bed!”

Yuma: “Deal! And it wasn’t me who took all of the blanket!”

Astral: “Don’t lie Yuma, I remember it being you.”

Yuma: “Shhhhh!”

Ryouga: “It was you then! Also everyone else slept on the floor!- Hey, what’s this.”

Suddenly our D-Pads let out a notification ring, there was echo forming of the sound of the notification, probably because most people returned to the dormitory or they left it in their room.

Ryouga: “What’s going on?...”

Yuma: “I don’t know… I guess we gotta find out.”

Without any inspection, without thinking of what it could be, I clicked on the notification.

Monokuma: _Yuma’s motive video_

_Yuma, from when he was a kid, was very passionate about Dueling, but his skills were to cry for! However, an inspirational figure, his father, taught him never to give up and the famous catch phrase “Feel the floow”. After Yuma lost his beloved parents, his older sister and his grandma took good care of him, and after years the whole family was reunited again, all of Yuma’s friends were doing great and having the most peaceful time of their lives. Yuma was known as the WDC Champion boy and the hero of the Astral world, his life couldn’t go any better, until an unfortunate event occured._

_Akari: “Yuma, the riots are getting more violent each day, it’s almost like a civil war, and it’s spreading everywhere like a contagious disease! I am trying to find the source of everything, but for now I couldn’t find anything good enough to give you a clue of what’s really happening, I am sorry for that Yuma. Please be safe, only you and your friends can stop this now, I’ll get back with you soon...”_

_Haru: “This civil war is getting out of hand, no one is spared! They are attacking anyone in their path, and I am afraid not even I am strong enough to withstand all this with my feeble body. Not even your Master Roku can protect me, I am counting on you Yuma, we all are… Please be safe my boy. That's all we want...”_

_Kazuma: "Yuma! This disaster, all of this isn't a natural phenomenon, it's caused by a dark power that only you and Astral together can defeat, the fate of this world it's on the capable hands of you two again, please, save us my boy, good luck."_

_Mirai: "Yuma my dear, everyone has put their trust in you and Astral, together I know you can defeat this new evil, I believe in you and I always will. Please stay safe my dear, and make this darkness come to an end with the power of the bond you share with Astral.”_

_Monokuma: "Yuma's family, the most important people in his life are clearly overwhelmed and endangered by this new evil, but after this video, something really bad happened to them, and they could no longer tape videos for Yuma anymore because of it, wonder what happened? Puhuhu who knows? I guess you have to find that on your own~"_

Ryouga: "Y-Yuma-!"

Yuma: "STOP IT! AAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Astral: "Yuma you have to stay calm!"

Ryouga: "YUMA!"

Yuma: "THEY ARE IN DANGER! MONOKUMA HELD THEM HOSTAGE BECAUSE OF ME!"

I held my head in place trying to process what was going on, but it was all in vain, I felt as if my world was collapsing in front of me, and the fear of my family meeting the same fate as Micahel and Kotori started to form my mind, but most importantly, I wanted to escape this place…

Yuma: "I… I have to save them… I have to… **get out.** "

*Smack*

A hand forcefully passed across my cheek, the sting feeling of the pain was enough to come back to my senses.

Ryouga: "Yuma! Look at yourself! This is a "Motive video" by Monokuma. He intentionally made this so it gives us the desire to to escape or anything for the sake of motivating us to kill!"

Yuma: "But that doesn't change anything I saw in the video! They are still in danger and need my and Astral's help!"

Ryouga: "Are you then saying the world doesn't need us? So you can kill us and get yourself out and save your family and the whole world?"

Yuma: "I never meant-"

Ryouga: "That's exactly what you meant! In the video it never talked about how you met us, or the ex Barian Emperors, because it had to make you and Astral feel special, and centralise around you so you feel enough arrogance to make you kill someone and betray them for the sake of “greater good”. If it talked about us, it would have given you the desire to escape with everyone, and not through the killing game. This is all Monokuma's trap! We are going to escape this place, but together!"

Yuma: "Ah… you’re right. I won’t let Monokuma get to me, we are all going to escape this place! We are friends, we won’t kill each other anymore."

Ryouga: "That’s right. Wait a second… if we got this motive video, that means…"

Yuma: "The others got it too! We have to stop them from watching!"

Ding Dong Ding Dong

Suddenly, someone started to call the bell in Shark's room, and a few minutes later I opened the door.

Rio: "Ryouga have you watched the- Yuma? What are you doing here?"

Ryouga: "More importantly, did you see it?"

Rio: "No I haven't, but Durbe did, and he showed it to me, what Monokuma is doing is very dangerous. Durbe told me to collect all the motive videos to prevent everyone from seeing theirs, and I decided to help and collect.”

Yuma: “But doesn’t this mean he has to take our entire D-Pad?”

Rio: “We can’t risk more people seeing their motive. We’re going to put all the D-Pads in one place and give limited access to them.”

Ryouga: “Wait, Mookuma might punish with the exisals if he saw you interfere with the motives-”

Rio: “He can’t, he’s not allowed to meddle with our plans to prevent killings from happening in that forceful way, and it’s not like we are breaking any rules. But he might come up with a drastic motive like the last time, we need to escape by then otherwise there will be a second trial!”

Ryouga: “Got it, Yuma give me the D-Pad.”

Rio: “I remember in Tokunosuke’s Research Lab the key Caswell found disappeared from the box. It was a combination lockbox but the Monokubs and Monokuma were still able to retrieve it. What I am saying is, it won’t be easy to hide it, we need to uptight the Security system.”

Yuma: “That’s true, the Monokubs and Monokuma can just take it and give it to us again. The D-Pads has all the rules and stuff so it’s not like we have much of a choice but to keep it with us.”

Astral: “What do you plan to do, Yuma? Personally, I would suggest watching everyone’s motive videos.”

Yuma: “Huh?!”

Astral: “I noticed quite a few things that your motive video contained, and the most noticeable one was **weakness**. If we were able to see everyone’s weakness, we can tackle them together. We are all friends, Yuma. Our friendship and guilt is going to hinder this Monokuma’s incentive to kill. We need to show we are not alone and we are on the same boat, manipulated and mentally tortured by Monokuma, and the only way route where everyone can be satisfied is through defeating Monokuma and escaping together, we need to show that Monokuma is our enemy.”

Yuma: “I know what you mean… but the way I felt when I watched the video… I- I don’t want my friends to feel that despair!”

Astral: “I see… then I’ll trust you.”

Rio: “Yuma, are you ok? Did you happen to watch your motive video?...”

Yuma: “Yeah I did, hehe. It’s all good. I am not tempted one bit! This is an epic fail from Monokuma!”

Rio: “Oh…” *giggle*

Ryouga: “...”

Rio: “I just had the perfect idea! Why don’t we keep them underwater for now?”

Yuma: “U-Under water?!”

Rio: “Our D-Pads are water resistant after all!”

Ryouga: “That way, if Monokuma or the Monokubs can’t go near the water, otherwise their circuits will break.”

Yuma: “How can you know that for sure?”

Ryouga: “I guess Kaito would know since he’s the expert.”

Yuma: “Then let’s go and ask him!”

Rio: “Kaito and the others must have returned to their rooms too.”

Yuma: “Alright!”

I ran out of the room and rushed down the stairs. I am sure Kaito’s room was the first floor of the dormitory, and just as I went towards it, the door suddenly opened and Kaito rushed out crushed against me and I abruptly fell on the floor.

Kaito: “Y-Yuma!”

Yuma: “This is not the time! Kaito we need to hide the D-Pads! Is Monokuma waterproof?”

Kaito: “I haven’t seen Monokuma’s composition yet, but if I have to base on guesses, I imagine an AI like him to be made of wires that are completely exposed behind the skin, so the water should be able to damage him a bit, but that’s just a random guess.”

Yuma: “So be it! I think we should put our D-Pads in water! And we gotta do it fast, it’s almost nighttime!”

Anna: “What is all this noise? What’s this ‘motive video’ I am hearing a lot?”

Tetsuo: “H-Hey Yuma, what’s going on?! I am hearing you screaming from my bedroom!”

Yuma: “Tetsuo, we need to take all the D-Pads away and throw them in the swimming pool!”

Tetsuo: “A-Alright! I’ll go and get em then!”

And then more people entered the dormitory.

Chris: “I heard this news about a certain incentive Monokuma gave called ‘Motive videos’.”

Thomas: “Goddammit I just had to click it didn’t I… Anyway, like hell I am gonna kill someone for something so stupid, but there is no guarantee for you idiots.”

Tetsuo: “Who are you calling an idiot?! You’re probably the most dangerous person here!”

Tokunosuke: “Y-You’re gonna kill me because I look weak, right?! Since you’re so strong and all I am the perfect sacrifice, right?!”

Thomas: “Oh please! I am not a crazy lunatic that falls for these stupid tricks like this, unlike you guys I know is my true enemy, Monokuma, and I’ll do anything to make that sucker pay.”

Tokunosuke: “Everything has a flip side! You’re only saying this just because you want everyone to trust you! After Micahel died, all you wanted was to escape with your family, even someone like me can see that desire burned into your eyes!”

Tetsuo: “T-Tokunosuke what has gotten into you all of a sudden-”

Thomas: “You thought that would trigger me? What a bunch of fools… I don’t have time to waste my breath on you losers.”

Ryouga: “Anyway, back to the topic, we can’t just throw our D-Pads in the swimming pool like that, we need a fishing net and a 100kg weight so it doesn’t float.”

Alito: “Did I hear the word “100kg weight”? I have one in my Research Lab. Gilag and I are gonna bring them to the swimming pool then.” 

Haruto: “And we need a plastic bag for each D-Pad so it doesn’t get damaged!”

Droite: “They must be in the warehouse, I know where it is!”

Astral: “Yuma, won’t you do anything?”

Yuma: “Oh! Yeah, can you guys please give me your D-Pads?”

Tokunosuke: “B-But why?! Most of us probably saw the motive video anyway!”

Yuma: “But there are people who didn’t, and to make sure they don’t, we have to throw it in the water.”

Tokunosuke: “But-”

Tetsuo: “It’s for the best Tokunosuke.”

And then he looked down, and then handed me the D-Pad.

Tokunosuke: “Alright.”

I took the D-Pad and added to the ones I collected. And then eventually, I finished collecting all the D-Pads. And everyone reached the swimming pool. We slowly put all of them in the plastic bags and put them in the fishing net from Shark’s Research Lab, and we tighten a rope and attach it to the weight. We finally threw it into the water, hoping the Monokubs and Monokuma won’t go near it…

We were just in time before it was officially nighttime as the announcement played out. Everyone finally returned to their rooms with the promise that the motive videos did not affect us in any way and the original plan of escaping together is still on. I was lucky to have both Astral and Shark on my side, with friends around to support you, Monokuma’s tricks won’t work. Yes… we are all friends, we won’t kill each other, no matter what.

…

…

* * *

Ding Dong Bing Bong

Monosuke: “This is the school official announcement from the Ultimate Academy!”

Monotaro: “Right now is 8 am, so get out of bed and murderrrr!”

Monodam: “WHAT-IF-SOMEONE-ALREADY-DIED.”

Monophanie: “D-Don’t say such ominous stuff! I-I am sure everyone is doing fine… If you really want to kill someone, please be gentle.”

Monotaro: “I am sure if our little brother was still alive and heard that, he would have made a dirty joke just now.”

Monophanie: “We had a little brother?”

Monotaro: “EEEHH! YOU FORGOT?!”

Monosuke: “Looks like someone has amnesia, we gotta tell pops about it.”

Monokubs: “So long! Bear well!”

Those annoying bears finally shut the announcement. I slowly woke myself and got up, and realised that Shark’s side of the bed was completely empty.

Yuma: “Huh?! Where is Shark?”

Astral: “Maybe he was tired because you snore too much.”

Yuma: “‘Haha’ really funny, seriously where could he be at this hour, I am sure everyone is waking up now. Oh! I gotta get ready to go to the Dining Hall.”

After stretching myself for a while I finally started to brush my teeth and do the usual morning stuff, don’t worry, I used my own brush from my room in case you’re asking. I finally got out of my pijama and dressed in my normal clothes. And just as I was about to head out, I noticed something… it was in front of my door… a D-Pad.

My heart raced, and I had that feeling… that familiar feeling when you know something bad has happened.

Astral: “Yuma… weren't they supposed to be under the swimming pool?”

I didn’t even have time to respond, I immediately ran out of the room with my D-Pad in hand. Many of the doors in the dormitory didn’t have the D-Pad in front of their doors, they must have taken it with them, so Shark wasn’t the only one who woke up early. That also means that the one I am holding right now must be Shark’s, mine has to be in front of my broken door.

I took both and immediately headed towards the swimming pool. And on my way, I saw a crowd of people in front of the swimming pool door.

Caswell: “The door is not opening!!”

Tetsuo: “Caswell why are you freaking out so much?”

Anna: “Someone wasn’t in their room from last night!”

Yuma: “What?!”

Ryouga: “Move! The door is locked from the inside! My Research Lab is connected to the swimming pool. Let's go from there!”

And then, Shark pulled out his Research Lab’s key card and opened the door, and then from inside, we rushed inside the swimming pool.

From the distance, we could see the fishing net that should have contained our D-Pads that we found in front of our door, laying at the corner outside the pool area, but there was a shadow, something big inside that net… and as it got near it, it looked bigger and bigger… My heart raced again as if it was about to burst out, to the point I couldn't even move... inside the entangled fishing net, there was my friend's... dead body...

Caswell: “NOOOOO! TOKUNOSUKE!!”

…

…

Ding Dong Bing Bong

Monokuma: “A body has been discovered! Everyone, please gather in the swimming pool!”

…

...

* * *

Author's note:

Oh boi this chap was long, anyway, I made these Counters when they say ["That's Wrong!"](https://anannir.tumblr.com/post/636533244343549952/zexal-x-danganronpa-counters)

I hope you like it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another death?! Who did it this time?!
> 
> UPDATE!! : After so many days I finally finished the investigation part 😭
> 
> UPDATE : I know you must be getting tired of these updates, I am so sorry guys I am just having so much stuff going on, and as much as I want to continue it, I need to prioritise things and sort out stuff


End file.
